Halcyonic
by HalcyonNight
Summary: Alex blinked, and his perfect little world fell apart. *Yaoi* *Male!OC x Ryohei* *Somewhat Slow Building*
1. Uno: Rose

**Disclaimer: Apologies, but I don't own KHR. If I did, there would be more Nana everywhere.**

**Okay, as I couldn't put more space in the Summary, here are the warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-Ai, BAMF Never-used Characters, and long ANs.**

**Regardless, read and review, and I hope you enjoy~**

_**Italics = Thoughts (Usually Alex's)**_

* * *

Once upon a time in a not so ordinary place, a young boy arrived by train into the small, picturesque town of Namimori.

Happy couples were cheerfully going about their day – _meandering _listlessly to and fro, going about their day the same way they do every day. Birds flocked together, swallows and starlings and _cursed-larks_ basking in the sun's rays as they laze the days away: gleefully unaware of the looming chaos that was sure to come. Even the local flora was not left unscathed by the town's deceptively tranquil atmosphere: evident in the almost languid swaying of the branches in the spring breeze.

All in all, it almost seemed as if it belonged in a fairy tale – a world separate from the rest, a world that is peaceful in the way that small communities could only accomplish.

Keyword there being 'almost'.

Like everywhere else in the world, there were some _glaringly_ obvious negatives when people think about Namimori.

A flourishing underworld, a tyrannical disciplinary leader (who has, somehow, managed to turn into this town's version of the _Bogeyman_), abuse of all kinds everywhere – it was hard to see why people didn't just pack up their stuff and abandon ship. Sadly for our 'new-comer', he doesn't know of all of this – how is he supposed to know? After all, he has just got there, drifting in to stay with his 'host' family. Not 'host' as in 'OHSHC' - unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of Tamaki _anywhere_ in the small town - but 'host' as in 'family that will take you in for a long time so you can experience the culture' host.

Which leads us to the crux of the situation: the new-comer. The _Gaijin_. He stood, alone and lost in the expansive Namimori Train Station, awaiting his 'host' to pick him up. Wide-eyed, the Caucasian adolescent was milling about, looking hastily through his many bags, checking to see if all his belongings were still there. Rummaging into the back-pack in his side, he pulled out a brush - setting to work on his hair, trying to get the messy ginger strands into some semblance of a style.

_And failing. Miserably._

_Damn it, why do I even bother?_

Sighing, temporarily giving up hope on sorting out his rebellious locks, he flicked through the letter that sent him here – duly noting the bolded 'Sawada' in angry, block capitals.

Alex would have to tone down the sarcasm, considering everything. He will be staying with them after all, so it would be good to at least try to stay on their good side.

And maybe if he was on his best behaviour they might carry his luggage for him. Luggage that felt like it was tearing him in half.

_Oww. Why did I pack so much stuff?_

Arms burning, legs aching and thoroughly jetlagged, he felt like he'd been hit by a bus. Wincing, he sat on a bench, flopping heavily onto the wooden cradle. Noticing the strange looks he was getting, he prayed to whatever deity that was listening that they would tone it down.

If he wanted to be looked at like an exhibit, he'd bloody well patrol the streets naked.

Despite his protesting muscles, Alex grunted, tearing his slightly sweaty body of the seat he was sprawled on, eyes locked onto the (hopefully) friendliest looking person.

"Hi, my name is Ivy Alex; can you tell me about the town – like what the good tourist sites are, and what the town's speciality is?" He spoke to the friendly, albeit somewhat generic woman. Sadly, all he got for his troubles was a blank, yet slightly bemused look before he realised his mistake.

He spoke in English. Extremely fast English.

_Oh._ Resisting the urge to slap himself, he instead rifled through the ruby red backpack at his side, retrieving a slightly battered copy of an 'Oxford English-Japanese' dictionary, flicking through the pages with a tired glint in his eyes.

"Where is it…where is it…AHAH!" Scouting out the correct combination of words (Lord knows he didn't need to ask if they would bear his children or something, or even worse ask if they were a prostitute), he eagerly repeated his question to the rather bemused woman.

Understanding dawned on her face before she walked off, beckoning with a look that said 'follow', towards a stand in the nearby wall. Pulling out a pen, she took a map of Namimori out of the stand and circled a couple of areas on it.

She even drew a tiny smiley face over a restaurant dubbed Takesushi.

With a deep bow he cheerfully said 'Arigatou gozaimasu' before hurrying back to his creaky wooden saviour, throwing himself back down to relax. The clock nearby said that it was 12:30 – someone should be picking him up around now.

Taking the time to look at the areas the woman circled, Alex checked to see where he should go first. Making a mental note of 'Takesushi', and an even larger note of 'Namimori Shrine', he left the rest till later. There was plenty of time to go exploring, considering he would be here for _three whole years. _

Three whole years of exploring the culture, the foods and the festivals. Three whole years of being immersed in a culture and _oh-my-Lord-no-one-speaks-English-I'm-screwed._

He didn't resist smacking himself clean across the face.

Alex had to resist the urge to cry in frustration. He would be in an unfamiliar place with a slightly questionable grasp over the language, for the rest of his teen years.

_I really should have thought this through…like…_

"Ivy-kun?"

_Of all the things I could have jumped into without thinking…It had to be…_

"Ivy-kun."

_David was right I should have realised and omg who is that talking to me like stop.._

Peering up through the cracks of his finger, the insult died on his lips as he saw who was standing in front of him.

Hands clasped together, a young woman stood in front of him. Standing just a little bit taller than him (though that wasn't hard, considering the red-head was only 4"9), the only way to describe her would be _blinding._

Soft, auburn hair that seemed to shine when the sun reflected _just _right off it, with caramel eyes that looked far deeper than the ocean and spoke of warmth, Sawada Nana gave the appearance of an individual that could blind the sun and be the envy of even the most beautiful of ladies.

With a soft smile, she watched, amused, as the child in front of her examined her.

"You must be Alex-kun then?" The aforementioned boy could only wince as the women mutilated his name, the lady turning his name into 'A-rex', but he had to respect her for trying.

Not that he could judge - his own pronunciation of certain Japanese words was atrocious, and he still has nightmares over trying to wrap his tongue around the alphabet.

"Yup," Seeing the slightly confused look on her face, he quickly fixed his language, "Yea, I am. Pleasure to meet you." Bowing like he has been told to do, he tried his best to make a semi-decent first impression. "Thank you very much for having me."

The stilted Japanese sounded painful to his own ears, so it must be torture for the native speaker.

"I'm Sawada Nana, but you can call me Mama," She beamed, spawning sparkles into existence as she did so. It seems like she has completely ignored the thank you, and instead jumped straight into introducing herself.

Even though they already knew each other's names.

Blinking owlishly, Alex decided to not comment on it, chalking it up to cultural differences.

After they acquainted themselves, the conversation seemed to flow naturally. They talked as they made their way to the Sawada residence, and by the end of it, he had learnt that she was thirty-four, her favourite food was omelettes and that she had a husband called Iemitsu that worked away from them as a construction worker.

Alex decided not to mention his thoughts about that, the bubbly woman seemed to become even more alive at the thought of her husband and he didn't want to shatter any illusions she may have about him.

"Is there anyone waiting for you then?" If it was possible Nana became even _bubblier_, if such a thing was possible.

"My darling Tsu-chan…"

What followed next was an incredibly fast paced description of her precious baby boy and how cute he was and how he wasn't very good at many things but _omg he was so cute._

Well, that was all he managed to grasp before he lost track of what was being said.

_So all I know is that he's cute. Cute._

Through the speech, he couldn't get a word in edge-wise. Not that he wanted to, it was endearing to see this side of the woman, even if it was slightly annoying that he couldn't follow much of what was going on.

_I'm somewhat surprised Claire hasn't at least tried to contact me yet, considering just who she is. She's almost as overbearing as…_

"Tsu-chan goes to Namimori Middle – oh that's the place that you're going to, isn't it? Maybe you and Tsu-chan can be friends? Oh that'll be…"

…_David is when he's drunk. Even if he did threaten to throw me out of a window…_

"…He's thirteen years old, and…Oh yeah, is there any place you want to go to first? I can take you anywhere that you want to go?"

"I think I'm alright for today, I'd rather just stay in and rest for a bit." Wincing slightly at the reminder of his aching muscles, he doggedly followed the woman as she took him to her home, dragging the bags with him.

"Ok dear, just don't work too hard. You must be so tired after coming all the way from the UK." She smiled a smile tempered with motherly steel. It didn't seem as if she was going to take no for an answer, and Alex couldn't shake the feeling that this would be an occasion that will soon be routine.

"Anyway, were here now, so make yourself at home." She made her way to the front door, waiting for him there.

She was clearly excited, if her sing-song voice was indicative of anything. The household itself was quaint, and very clearly suburban. Small, but not so small that it couldn't fit the small family, it looked like it was perfect for someone to live a quiet life – to live a life where all you had to worry was about living the way you want to live.

Alex couldn't deny that he was grateful for that. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he had found his way to a mansion, or any other type of building that screamed influence.

Seeing how he was all alone outside, he entered the building, dropping his luggage the second he entered the building.

_Omg praise the Lord…_ Praising every deity out there, he couldn't resist the almost orgasmic sigh at the thought of not having to carry _that_ luggage around any further.

Like a man possessed, Alex stumbled into the first room he saw. Scanning the room, taking in all the cooking utensils, he launched himself at the sink. Clambering for a glass, or a mug or _anything, _he turned the faucet on, letting the clear liquid flood the sink underneath with the life-giving substance. His hands finding the object he was looking for, he brought the crystalline glass underneath the cascade, watching gleefully as it filled to the brim.

Bringing the now filled glass to his lips, he greedily gulped the water down, the liquid cooling a track down his throat. Already feeling his burning muscles relax, he took a moment to rest against the counter before starting his exploration of his new home.

His boots clopping noisily against the laminated floor, he left the kitchen.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know much about Japanese culture, so the first thing he did when he exited was take of his shoes. Nana was nowhere to be seen, having most likely headed upstairs, so he was slightly grateful that he wouldn't have to see how she looked when she was disappointed.

Quietly, he followed her footsteps, absentmindedly yawning as he did so. A quick look at his watch said that it was early in the morning back in the U.K, and he hasn't slept yet.

A door ajar told him that Nana was inside, and he popped inside to ask her which of the three rooms on the landing was his. Mouth open, words escaped him as a little piece of him died when he saw just what was inside.

_It_ was a dump. An absolute mess. A clean-freaks nightmare. Clothes and underwear littered the room; papers were scattered haphazardly over the desk and _was that Twilight and why is it there?_ Alex couldn't help but shiver in disgust at the literature clenched in the mother's hand, and prayed to all deities out there that his room was nothing like _this_.

"Don't worry, your room isn't like this - I've just not gotten round to cleaning Tsu-chan's room yet." She said, seemingly ever-present grin on her face, as if reading my mind. After one last disgusted look around the room, I took note of the directions she gave me and abandoned ship before I saw something that would ruin my life.

Slamming the door shut behind me, I fled into the door the hallway, passing Nana's locked room. This was supposedly Alex's room – the guest room.

The room was obviously Spartan: a small desk hugged the wall, with a small lamp sitting innocuously on top, with a single bed underneath the window and a chestnut coloured wardrobe to the side that when opened was filled with unused coat hangers and smelt heavily of moth balls. Despite the fact that it had seen little use, the room itself was clear of dust, and the small clock attached to the wall ticked on happily. The walls themselves were a warm, creamy vanilla - thankfully nothing like the synthetic pearl of hospitals and seemed to radiate homeliness

Actually, despite its appearance, the whole house seemed to radiate an aura of warmth and acceptance that would give even someone like 'Severus Snape' the warm-and-fuzzies.

It felt like the sky, and of promises and friendship and he was so grateful that this was where he was staying and not the other choice he had.

But who was he to say? For all he knew the Hibari residence could be just as warm.

"Like the room?"

Startled, he let out a loud chain of expletives, twisting his body to stare at the woman, betrayed.

"Don't do that," Seeing that she just stared at him innocently, he knew it was a lost cause asking, "And it's more than enough, thank you."

The woman's smile became softer, as she muttered something underneath her breath, something altogether bizarre twinkling in her eyes.

"I'll go grab your bags." With a flourish, she left the room before Alex could try and stop her, and returned just as quickly, carrying the heavy suitcases with an ease that left the red-head stunned.

Her only response was to smile and say that mothers were tough.

Leaving it at that, they set to work. Clothes were folded, books placed in the bookcase near to the desk, and all other unique items were put into a box that they lovingly dubbed 'The Box of Happy Endings'.

Well, more like she dubbed it that. Alex just sort of accepted it for what it was and left it at that. He'd been around his sister, Claire, long enough to know that you can't ever argue with girls without losing, pitifully.

The box itself (now covered in glitter and sparkles, by Nana) held everything that didn't really fit in elsewhere. Whether it be pens or pencils, coins and notes and even 'Blu-tac' (which he took out to use later on that map the lady had given him), if he ever needed it, it was probably going to be in there. With a happy grin on his face, Alex asked the question that he was dreading, but felt that it needed to be asked.

"What am I going to be doing? Around the house, I mean?" Alex said in halting Japanese, forgoing his dictionary in favour of speaking it himself. He needed to drop the crutch as soon as possible.

"Umm... What do you mean?" She asked, clearly bewildered by the question.

"Things like, umm, cleaning? Cooking? Stuff like that." He may be new to the country, but he refused to just be a lazy, good-for-nothing, stereotypical teenager.

"Nothing. You just enjoy staying here and that's more than enough.' Nana cheerfully announced, in her typical, happy-go-lucky tone of voice.

Oh no. She is so not going to be backing out of this one. He was raised helping around the house, and it must be tough doing all the work by her lonesome.

"I insist! It just wouldn't feel right if I did none of the work. I'm staying here at no expense of my own, and I'm here taking up room." Exasperated, he was unwilling to do nothing around the house. The program he was on made it so that the 'host' paid for all of his expenses, and it just wouldn't feel _right _if all he did was cause trouble on Nana.

The woman in question sighed in exasperation, before pondering on what to do - though soon afterwards her head shot up, idea clearly painted all over her face.

"I know! You could help around the kitchen, and come with me when I go shopping. That way you can get to know the area better, and help me out as well…you can cook, can't you?" She asked, hope blossoming in her voice, and the Sawada could only grin happily when the Briton nodded.

Well, it was the best he was going to get, even if he himself wished to do more. With a grin on his face, he accepted the offer, happy to be able to help the cheerful woman. Nana nodded, eyes roaming the room, obviously searching for something.

"…It's 2:30…" She trailed off, the first instances of dread appearing in her eyes.

Alarmed at the time, she shot up and ran out of the room, declaring that she needed to go shopping now or that she'll be late.

Leaving Alex, and the rest of his luggage, alone in the house.

With nothing else to do but wait for her to get back, he quickly packed away his equipment, and went to lie down in his new bed. Pulling out a brand-new journal out of 'The Box of Happy Endings', he set to work writing out the first of many journal entries.

He would normally not write in a journal, but his sister made him promise that he would, just so that he would be able to keep his English skills sharp. Though to be honest, he just thinks that she wants an excuse to steal it and use it as blackmail material.

She was surprisingly vindictive like that.

And she was the reason why she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Sawada Nana. It was probably just his imagination, but no-one can be that happy about doing chores, and no-one could possibly have their natural default expression as happy.

Yamato Nadeshiko she may be, but something wasn't quite right with Nana Sawada.

And Alex, being the curious person that he is, was and will forever be, craves to know just what that is.

Picking up the journal, the _diary, _the portfolio that would hold all of his adventures for the foreseeable future, and resting it against the desk, he set to work.

Hey, you never know just when some block-buster movie director may pick up his journal and make a movie of it!

…Except if it was Michael Bay. He isn't allowed near it. Otherwise all we'll see is explosions.

And explosions are not always fun.

* * *

-_I can hear someone entering the house, I'll be back soon to finish off the entry_ –

Dropping the pen in his hand, Alex stretched his tired limbs, hoping that whoever just came in is the elder Sawada, and not the younger. But he wasn't betting on it. His luck was atrocious at the best of times, and he didn't want to tempt it.

Placing the journal back into 'The Box of Happy Endings', Alex slowly stood up from the desk and stumbled his way towards the staircase. A young, (and admittedly very cute) boy was making his way into the kitchen from the hallway.

It was obvious who it was, as it certainly wasn't Nana-san. Unless _this _was her secret, but something about that was doubtful.

Very doubtful.

Smiling as serenely as possible, Alex made a distinct coughing sound – alerting the young boy that he was not alone in the house.

"Hello there. I do believe we haven't met before. How are you?"

For lack of a better phrase, the adolescent screamed.

And promptly collapsed in an undignified heap on the floor.

Trying to hide the laughter, Alex scanned the (obviously) embarrassed youth before making the executive decision that this boy was the "Tsu-chan" Nana was referring to – it was obvious if you looked at just how alike they are. They both share the same coloured hair and eyes; they were both short (but still somehow taller than him) and they had the same comforting aura that just screamed 'I'll accept you, just accept me first. I'll love you forever!'

Walking down the stairs towards the crumpled heap at the bottom, he decided to help the poor kid out and pretend that what he just witnessed hadn't happened.

"Who… Who are you?" The brunette…whimpered? Sparkles bloomed in the background as the ultimate uke questioned why this seeming stranger was in his house.

_Yea, they are definitely related. Only Nana-san could pull off the sparkle look – I didn't even know that that look was even a thing until I met the Sawada._

"Isn't it customary to introduce yourself first? After all you are my host, but, in answer of your question, I am Ivy Alex, 14 years of age. Pleasure to meet you."

"You host? Why am I your host? What are you doing in my house? And my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi" The brunette responded, his features serious.

It looked good on him.

"Well, I'm an exchange student from the UK, living here during my tenure as a transfer student, as your mother offered to act as my host whilst I stay here." Throwing caution to the wind, he just told the teen everything. Something told him that teasing the kid wasn't such a good idea at the moment.

"So will you be going to my middle school then? It's Namimori Middle if you are wondering."

"Yes, and I already know. Your mother certainly didn't let up on telling me everything about you." Consternation burned in his mind at the reminder of that particular conversation. Alex was getting tired of the questions.

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" Alex winced at that. Real smooth.

Tsuna himself looked bewildered, someone must obviously not be used to being asked about himself. He sputtered around, trying to say something about himself that wouldn't embarrass him in front of his new housemate. Finally calming down, he took a deep breath before replying to him.

"I like to read..." He muttered, clearly embarrassed. Sensing this, Alex yanked him up before dragging him upstairs. He sprinted past Tsuna's open room and Nana's locked one and leapt into his own. Leaving a stunned Tsuna in the doorway, he quickly opened one of his many suitcases and pulled out more books – the bookcase was forgotten in the background in favour of getting to the book he wanted.

Or more specifically, manga.

"You don't have to act all sophisticated, I have after all seen your room." Alex laughed, as Tsuna blushed.

"I'm sure you're more interested in manga than books. They are more interesting, after all. There is no need to be embarrassed by it, so stop blushing. You're making me embarrassed just by looking at you." He smirked, even if it was extremely cute.

An idea sparked in his mind. A positively evil one that would be sure to even further embarrass the already embarrassed Tsuna. With an evil grin, he scooted even closer to the Sawada.

"So what are you into more?" Alex leaned into his shoulder, saccharine grin slapped all over his face.

"E-Ehh?" Tsuna stuttered as he leans on him.

"Yaoi or Yuri" Alex whispered, devilish glee twinkling like stars in his eyes.

"HIEEEEEEEEEEE-"

Absolutely worth it.

Even if his eardrums have been shot to Hell.

* * *

**_Chapter 1, Fin~_**

**_OK, important things now~_**

**_This has been up once before, but after a hacking incident it was deleted. Along with all the files. However I found some back-ups, with help of my brother, and I have tried to improve as much as possible._**

**_This also means there will be some weird bizarre incidents of incongruence, but I'll do my best to remedy them if they pop-up._**

**_Also, I have the Diary Files. If you want me to put up what Alex writes in his journal, just ask and I'll put them in as either an Omake sort of thing or in a fanfiction devoted to them. Just ask for them._**

**_Anyway, please Read and Review, and I hope you help me improve this story~_**

**_Until then,_**

**_HalcyonNight_**

**_P.S: Any questions, feel free to contact me over them~ I don't mind :D_**


	2. Duo: Blanca

**_Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. Unfortunately._**

**_Usual Warnings apply. Also, slightly slow chapter._**

**_Anyway, hope you enjoy~_**

* * *

_Well that's not exactly the best way to start the day…_

Alex trailed off, bemused, listening in on the tell-tale staccato of the rain banging onto the window nearby. It seemed that, no matter how far away he was from the United Kingdom; there was no escaping the weather that it was so _lovingly_ named for, and all he could do was grin and bear it. The clouds raged, water droplets cascading down, and it seemed as if there would be no end to it – at the very least, not in the near future.

"I thought I would have escaped the rain by getting out of the UK. Guess like I was wrong…" Sighing, he got out of his warm, comfortable bed and made his way to his desk.

_Guess like I should at least get ready. I don't want to look like a hobo on my first day; lord knows I need to be made a social pariah on my first day._

Why on Earth he decided that it was a good idea to go to school _the very next day _was beyond him, even if it was he that made the decision. All he could blame was Nana's slightly panicked expression, eyes glinting with something he couldn't quite place, as the normally happy-go-lucky woman warned him of the bloodthirsty Committee.

Apparently, he's a tyrant. A beast. The Bogeyman of Namimori.

Alex personally thought that he _deserves_ a good slap.

Already dreading the amount of questions he'll receive about his hair, maybe he will be better off not going in today. Make an excuse, say that he still feels jetlag or that he is ill or maybe just forgo phoning in altogether, instead returning to the safety and security of his bed. Though in saying, it wouldn't do to not come in on his first day; he already had enough problems as it was – not being related in any way to anybody Japanese

That, and how are you _supposed_ to act? Alex didn't really now. All of his (relatively) short life, he had lived in England, and with it all it had to offer.

That included education.

The education in the U.K may have had high school and all that, but there was no such thing as a _middle school. _

Brows furrowed, he trudged out of the room, sleep clinging to his eyelashes as the teen tried to navigate the landing in the darkness. With a grunt, a hiss, and only one muffled scream of pain, he triumphantly traversed the stairs, aiming directly for the kitchen.

Only to be met by Nana.

"What are you doing up, hmm?" Nana didn't even spare him a glance, masterfully cleaning the hallway, but that didn't affect her mood – the woman's teasing lilt coming through despite the task at hand.

"What?" voice husky and rough from a bizarre mixture of jetlag and drowsiness, Alex growled out. He was too tired for this in the morning.

"Calm down Mr Growly Pants. I'm just surprised to see a teenage boy up so early. I don't know how they do it in England, but I'm not used to seeing teens up at _5:30 in the morning._" her omnipresent smile didn't seem to change, but it didn't take a genius to hear the thinly veiled venom in her tone.

"…I'm just going to go put some rice on."

The smile lost its edge, the warmth returning to it, and she gestured towards the kitchen.

"No need, dear, I've already put the rice on. Why don't you have a shower, get yourself sorted out for your big day?"

It was only later, whilst he was in the shower that he realised that Nana Sawada had echoed the very same words that he had said to himself, and all he could do was chalk it up to the enigma that was the kind-hearted woman.

The oblivious woman that, somehow, seemed to be able to read everyone.

* * *

_I'm screwed._

With the desperation of a dying man, a damp Alex tipped up the contents of his crimson bag, haphazardly sorting through the mess that littered his once pristine bed. His sheets were drowning in the remnants of his old school, drawings and pictures and old work strewn carelessly over the baby blue sheets. Without care, all of it was pushed to one side, and in its stead were the _essentials_.

Pencil cases were thrown in alongside sticky notes, pads and stencils. Finishing up, he zipped up his bag and pulled out his uniform. There wasn't anything interesting to say about it, to be perfectly honest. It was just like any other Namimori uniform, sadly enough.

The uniform wasn't anything special - a crisp, white polo shirt, and plain black cotton pants. Wearing it, he looked like he had just walked out of a Noir film.

It was as if he was a splash of monochrome in a world of colour.

As he was dressing, it was as if his insecurities were waiting for that moment to strike.

_Will he be able to make friends? _

_Will he do well in studies? _

_Bloody 'ell will he even like it there? _

Questions that he just cannot answer plagued him, tormented him.

But he hadn't come all of this way for nothing.

If they didn't like him then tough, _he would make them like him_.

If he didn't do well in his studies then it was no-one's fault but his _own_.

And he liked it well enough here, and that was enough for him.

"There's no point in thinking about it now and getting worried," Alex muttered, beating away the negative thoughts with a metaphorical stick. Before exiting his room, Alex grabbed a brush and pocketed it.

_After all, you never know when you need a brush or a comb to smack someone in the back of the head with._

With a small smile, the red-head knocked on Tsuna's door, waiting for a reply that would tell him that he could come in. However, hearing none, he knocked again. There was still no answer.

Quickly getting worried over this, Alex barged into the room, hoping against the odds that he had not left without him. Scanning the room for his prey, his eyes locked on the sleeping form lying spread-eagle on the bed, snoring lightly as if there wasn't a care in the world.

_Oh. He hadn't gotten up yet_.

He turned around to leave before double-taking.

_WAIT HE HASN'T GOTTEN UP YET? It was almost time to leave_!

With a glare that promised a swift but painful murder, he ran up to the bed, trying futilely to wake the innocent teen up. He tried calling his name, shouting at him (which made Tsuna grumble a little bit) and even shaking him. Deciding that physical pain might do the trick, he looked around for anything he could hit him with that wouldn't hurt too much.

_Paper? No, too flimsy. Stab him with a pen? Would leave a mark. Brush? Could work, but that's only for idiots though…_

Quickly running out of ideas, Alex decided to do the most logical thing and drag him, kicking and screaming, out of the bed. Noticing him finally start to wake up, he relented on tugging his hair and took to relentlessly poking him instead.

Alex never said that he was above petty things. He just didn't enjoy them.

The brunette's eyes finally managed to crawl open, caramel eyes staring in tired delirium at the angry Brit's visage, and Tsuna did the one thing that he was known for.

Scream. _Loudly_.

Alex had moved on from anger, into something more, and it laughed at the thought of homicide and instead promised _genocide._ Eyes burning, brow twitching, he was about to show why he was so mad to the clueless boy.

"Tsuna-kun… WHAT TIME DO YOU THINK IT THIS IS! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEAVING THE HOUSE NOW AND ON OUR WAY TO SCHOOL," Alex stared down at the cowering kouhai, panting, somewhat glad to get the explosion out of the way now.

The sleepy boy, otherwise known as the source of Alex's ire, 'HIEEEEEE'D' once again, before running around his room madly in search of his uniform. Bemused, the still slightly wet teen launched Tsuna's polo shirt at the back of his head, with enough force to send the nervous kid to the ground.

Frankly unamused with the whole thing, he could hardly contain the sigh threatening to break free, leaving the room - but not before telling the rushing adolescent that he'll get his breakfast sorted out and grab his bento's.

See, he could be nice, if he tried. Emphasis on the _tried._

"Hi _Lexie-chan,_" cheerful, it seemed that Nana had completely forgotten about what was said this morning, waving happily at the feminine teen.

Who, suffice to say, wasn't amused with the nickname.

"Lexie-chan?" spitting it out venomously, the force behind the word could puncture diamond.

"Friends are supposed to give each other nicknames, aren't they? You can call me mama." if he didn't know better, Alex would say that she was patronising him, but he just chalked it up to another of Nana's eccentricities.

"…Fine." this was one of those battles that he couldn't win, he knew, and all he could do was grin and bear it.

Conversation soon dried up, the duo returning to what they were doing before the interruption. Nana returned to her crossword, tapping a rhythm out onto the table as she pondered over the answers whilst Alex spooned various delicacies onto a plate, well aware of the passage of time.

"What's seven letters and means 'reaching a high or the highest degree; very great.'?" she even punctuated the statement with her hands.

"Hmm?"

"I'm doing this crossword, in English, and I don't know the answer," Nana even pouted.

"Oh, extreme." dismissing the conversation, he returned to his task, unprepared for the blow to the head.

_Did she just…?_

Eying the object on the floor anxiously, as if it was a bomb ready to explode, he could only stare at it in confusion.

"_Clingfilm, _right?" smirking with pride, she answered the question that was painted clear as day on his face.

"Before you ask, it's for when you are done. Just wrap it up and give it to me later on." letting out a soft '_oh_' in comprehension, he didn't question just how she knew, as he knew he would not like the answer, and instead chose to wait at the door for Tsuna to arrive.

Lucky for him, he did not have to wait for long, as the boy in question literally fell down the stairs, landing in a crumpled heap by his foot. Not wasting any time Alex forced him to his feet, handing the bewildered boy the plate with his breakfast on.

"Umm…thanks" he whispered with gratitude, tucking into his breakfast as the duo made their way to the front door. With a cry of goodbye, the two boys escaped the house, but not before Alex armed himself with his umbrella. The two started the trek towards Namimori Middle in the pouring rain, with Tsuna in the lead and Alex following close behind, covering them both with his red umbrella.

Living in Britain means he's always prepared for rain.

"To get to the school, we pretty much just go in a straight line, and make a right. We just carry on down that road and make one more turn left, and we are there" Tsuna instructed, managing to drop his perpetual stuttering in favour of being understandable. Alex followed his every move, making a personal note to keep track on everything Tsuna is saying at the moment – after all he didn't want to get lost on the way to school.

Alex knew he didn't wear tardiness well.

"Is that all? I just assumed that it would be really far away, and that I would easily get lost or something." Alex replied.

_So that's it? That's all I have to do? I should have just asked Nana where to go then and left by myself. _

And no, he wasn't pouting. Honest.

Continuing on their way with mindless chatter, they followed the described path, ending up in front of Namimori middle.

Students were mulling around outside, talking to their friends in their own little groups as a few rebels hung outside. The gates stood tall, split open down the middle to allow entrance inside and the building itself looked immaculately clean. No litter, or graffiti, lined the pathway inside, and the sakura trees were in full bloom, even in this weather.

It was the sort of image a school wanted to show to the world, declaring to the world the discipline shown by their students. Alex could already tell that his new classmates were going to be disciplined, and their work-ethic top notch.

Inside was much the same. The floors, ceiling and walls were sterile, and the atmosphere was just like any other middle school – filled with the sound of students. Walking up to the reception desk that sat off to the side of the main entrance, they decided to find out just where the transfer student would be placed for lessons.

"Pardon me," Seeing that he had gotten her attention he pressed on, "Excuse me miss but could you do me a favour?" Alex asked, knocking on the glass separating them to get the woman's attention.

She was tall, approximately two feet larger than Tsuna and wore the stereotypical secretary outfit – white top, grey blazer with a pencil skirt and high heels. She obviously thought it made her look attractive, if the look on her face said anything, but it made her look more like a slut than anything else.

"Yes? What is it?" she replied, saccharine smile pasted on her face, whilst she threw a look at Tsuna that held nothing but contempt.

Alex found that he didn't like her. At all.

"Could you please tell me what class I am in? I'm new to the school, and I only arrived in Japan yesterday," Alex asked, speaking instead of Tsuna, though he was ignore, the woman staring at Tsuna with nothing but disgust.

Hearing the bell ring, Alex turned to Tsuna and sent him off to class, saying that he will go to class after he gets this done.

It looked like he was going to complain, but after placating the brunette and gifting him with the promise that he'll see him after school, he was off like a shot to his lesson.

Almost as if he was afraid of someone finding him not in class.

Ignoring the little niggling sensation that something was wrong, he turned back to the receptionist and reiterated the question, this time actually getting a response out of her.

"Oh? That's nice." With a quick glance at her computer, she soon got back to him, "You're in class 2-A." she said, voice patronising as she stared at him.

"Hmm? Cool. Now where is it?"

"Second floor, room A"

"Ok, thanks, bye."

He got out of there as quick as he could.

* * *

_Okay is everything ready? Hair looks immaculate, uniform is perfect and my glasses are tucked into my upper pocket with my pens. _

A quick look in his phone's camera told him that, yes, he was ready, and that yes, he was so going to _smash _it.

_I am so ready to make that first impression._

Alex smirked, looking himself over one last time before knocking on his assigned class. Waiting for the call to enter, and when given the prompt he entered the classroom.

Walking towards the front of the desk, Alex couldn't help but to feel nervous underneath the gazes, unable to shake the feeling like he was some sort of exhibit at the zoo.

"Hello, I'm Ivy Alex, but please call me Alex. As the teacher stated, I am on an exchange trip from the United Kingdom. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

With the introduction said and done, he made his way over to his designated seat, a window seat, where he only had one neighbour – a boy with sterling silver hair who was, at this moment in time, locked in Morpheus' embrace, if the light snores were anything to go bye.

The lesson itself seemed to be about English – so he pretty much didn't have to do anything for the rest of the hour.

He tried, he honestly did, but he only lasted twenty minutes before caving in to the boredom, and fishing out the journal within its depths.

_If they ask any questions I'm practicing English._

And so he scribbled away into that tiny book, determined, and to the rest of the world it looked like he was taking notes.

* * *

_-…well, I do not have much else to say at the moment, other than 'Operation: Friend' is live and going smoothly. I'll report back later with more information about what happened.-_

Checking the time, Alex belatedly realised that there was only five minutes left of the lesson, and everyone in the class assumed that you were taking notes all day. Staring at the guy next to him, who had still yet to wake up, he tried to nudge him up so the teacher will not get mad when he realises a _student slept though his lesson._

"Pardon me, sir… sir… _sir… _Are you going to get up any time soon?" exasperated, he continued to prod the youth.

No response.

Annoyed, he flicked the boy's forehead – knocking him out of the delirium with pain. Noticing he was about to say something, Alex quickly forced a hand over his mouth to stop him. Placing his spare finger over his mouth, he made the universal sign for '_shut it or we are going to suffer', _hoping that he would get the message.

Luckily enough, he did, and they went on unnoticed.

With it deemed safe, Alex removed his hand over the boy's mouth and turned back around to the teacher, not noticing the weird look that the boy gave him over what he just did.

The teacher at the front was _still_ prattling on about tenses, and when they are used. Deciding to listen for a bit, he didn't have much to listen to until the bell rung. Homework was given out, and Alex turned to introduce himself to the other.

"Hello, sorry about before but I needed you to be quiet so you don't get us both in trouble. Anyway, the name is Ivy Alex, pleasure to meet you," he smiled, hesitantly, as the boy in question got excited.

"_**EXTREME! **_My name is Ryohei Sasagawa, captain of the Boxing Club in Namimori Middle. We need someone like you in our boxing club!" the now known boy roared out, leaning up close to Alex's face.

_Wait what? Step back a second. Me – long haired, small, hardly any muscle mass – in the __**BOXING CLUB?**_

_**Obviously I am going to join!**_

"Ok, sure, I'll join. Who else is in it?" the newly inducted red head asked, if only for austerity's sake. Ryohei immediately brightened up, even more so than before when he introduced himself, unloading a spiel that was more like a presidential speech than anything else.

All Alex gathered was that there are only two others in the group, not that he was complaining - less chance for him to aggravate anyone.

"I'll take you to the club room during lunch, and we can train to the _**EXTREME!"**_ Ryohei jumped up, pumping his fists up and down, before starting to shadow box in the middle of the class. The rest of the class ignored it, even if he was right in the centre of everyone's sight.

Shaking his head, Alex just watched on in amusement as Ryohei nearly knocked someone out by accident.

_It certainly seems like it won't be boring, especially with Ryohei around to act like a hyperactive portable sun._

Now all he had to do was find a way to tell him that he was busy lunch and wouldn't be able to talk to him.

With his own private escort, Alex patiently waited for Maths to go by fast, praying that it all will go well.

Time seemed to go by at a snail's pace, until that glorious bell finally rung out.

Students flocked out of the classroom in droves, led by Ryohei Sasagawa as he dragged Alex down to the boxing room. Placing a dazed Alex down _somewhere _with surprising gentleness, Ryohei made his way towards the equipment in the back, hanging up an extremely heavy boxing bag filled with sand.

Before proceeding to _punch it into oblivion._

Deciding to sit back and watch, Alex sat nearby watching as he beat it up, watching in awe as he completely and utterly destroyed the boxing bag.

_I don't want to be on the end of that punch._

Knowing that this was something that he will regret in the near future, but going through with it anyway, he called out for the boy to stop. It seemed like he had completely forgotten he was there, as he looked remarkably sheepish when he noticed Alex call out to him.

"SORRY FOR FORGETTING ABOUT YOU, BUT SPEAK UP MORE," if there was thing Alex had learned; it was that Ryohei's default was _earth-shattering loud_. Seeing as that could get annoying quickly, Alex quickly made to stop it by covering his mouth with his hand.

"Ryohei-_san_, you don't need to shout. After all it's _just_ us two here anyway." Alex smirked, amused at him. Leaving an embarrassed Ryohei behind, he made his way to the arena in the middle of the room.

Alex slipped through the ropes, entering the ring, before facing Ryohei once more.

"ALEX! What are you doing in there? Do you want to Box? I thought you didn't…"Ryohei rambled, playing the part of a human machine gun frighteningly well, firing questions at the bemused Alex before being cut-off once again.

"I just thought that you might want to train against someone who could move faster than a bag… I don't box but I can certainly move around fast when I need to." Alex offered, and before he could blink Ryohei was in the arena, ready and prepared in his boxing gear.

"Let's start then. EXTREME FIGHT!" he cried out, before dashing towards the stunned Alex.

Regaining his composure quickly, a curtain of auburn trailed behind as he launched to the left, barely avoiding the punch. He was quickly forced onto the defensive, as Ryohei rampaged, clearly dominating the arena.

Jumping away from him, Alex danced around the next blow before lashing out with a roundhouse. Ryohei blocked this deftly, gripping the foot tightly, before throwing a punch at his face. Seeing no way out of this, Alex manoeuvred one arm to cover his face, shockwaves of pain lancing out from his arm from where the bullet punch hit.

_I really can't take another one of them._

Shaking it off as best he could, he used his captured foot as leverage to kick him in the face. Shock briefly covered the athlete's face, but he was prepared enough to catch it in his hand.

With an undignified 'eep' Alex was sent crashing to the ground, landing in the ring at an awkward angle, glaring up at the boy that was clutching his boots like a lifeline.

A seemingly uncharacteristic smirk graced Ryohei's face as a twinkle appeared in his eye.

"Guess like I win, to the EXTREME!" seeing the disappointment in the other's expression, he quickly tacked on a hasty 'maybe next time'.

Alex just glared, springing at the sterling boxer in the glomp of the century, knocking them both to the ground.

"What's this for? Why do I get an EXTREME HUG" he looked down on the kid in his arms with a exuberant smile on his face.

"No reason," he muttered in reply, before looking up at him.

"You don't need a reason to hug someone you know," yawning, he got up off of the surprisingly comfy Ryohei and made his way towards the door, "We should get back to lesson now; we don't want to be late do we?"

Walking out the boxing room, they left, rushing towards their next class as the bell rang.

* * *

"Oh look at this, ickle baby Tsu-Tsu got himself a girlfriend."

_Oh?_

Alex paused, foot about to leave the school premises, before the taunts reached him. Tsuna just blushed, tugging on the feminine youth's shoulder as if to say 'ignore it, just carry on with your life'.

"Just ignore it, please," Tsuna pleaded, body tired, "Let's just go home, please."

Alex didn't ignore it.

"Oh look, boys, Dame-Tsu Tsu's girlfriend is coming our…" he didn't get to finish, Alex's boot lodged firmly in his crotch. With a pained grunt, the guy sank to his knees, the Briton throwing a saccharine smile to the two goons at either side.

Alex made his way back over to Tsuna, smirk of pride emblazoned over his face, tugging the slightly stunned youth off the premises as if he hadn't just kicked a guy between the legs.

"And that, my dear Tsuna, is how you get rid of guys like that. A solid kick should do the trick, but sometimes another _tap _is necessary." Alex lectured, teaching the semantics of _'groin smashing' _to the still stunned Tsuna.

"…oh," Tsuna tilted his head cutely, and Alex had to restrain himself – the urge to 'squee' like a pre-pubescent girl was strong, but he managed – "I just usually inform Kusakabe-san."

Alex was left in a slight stupor, as Tsuna finished off his statement.

"After all, those who disturb the piece of Namimori deserve to be _bitten to death."_

"…Is that really what Hibari says?"

"Yup."

"And this is supposedly the person that the entire town fears?"

"Yup."

Tsuna left Alex gaping in the dust.

* * *

**_Chapter 2, Fin~_**

**_Okay guys, first things first, if the line breaks don't show up I apologise, but I realise that it is a thing and I can't really fix it as it seemed to be random._**

**_Secondly, I have a new story up. A Reincarnation ficcy. But to make it unique, 'Guy Falls into Girl' because Drama. Check it out xD_**

**_Thirdly, OMG THE RECEPTION! 3 Reviews, 6 favourites, 8 follows - Thank you so much for the support!_**

**_And remember, any questions just drop them in a review or in a PM and I'll answer :D_**

**_Signed, HalcyonNight._**


	3. Tre: Breakdown

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own KHR**  
_

_**Usual warnings. But now with extra Teenage Anger~**_

* * *

_It took me far too long to get his address._

The red-head leapt down the stairs, taking two at a time, heavy footfalls echoing in the silent household. With nothing more than a grunt, he landed in the hallway, a note grasped tightly in his hand – a hastily scrawled out message scribbled on its ivory surface, saying nothing more than '_out with Ryohei'._

Armed with nothing but his satchel and a duo of bentos – bentos that he had quickly thrown together for Ryohei and himself, with one being _substantially_ larger than the other (Alex had learnt that that he had the appetite of a pig, and all the manners of one, very early on) – he slipped in to a pale blue runner's jacket, and exited the building.

The early spring air was refreshing, and surprisingly not cold – making it the perfect condition for a run. Jogging towards the park that Ryohei told him to go to; he looked around for the street name.

_Sakura Street… nope, that isn't it… he better not have given me the wrong directions like last time – I didn't even know that Namimori even had a Red Light District._

That was one event that he never wanted to experience again. Nor did he want to think about how _Ryohei _knew how to get to the _Red Light District, _of all places. He had to text Tsuna of all people to get him out, as the boxer had turned his phone off.

Careful, Alex read out the street names, taking breaks from his jog to carefully read them out. Avoiding the first path like the plague, the Brit avoided the following two, arriving at the park in a light pant.

It was almost tranquil.

Without a soul in sight, as no-one was out at this time; there was a certain charm to the old playground. The rusty slides, the creaking swing set, even the sanguine monkey bars all added to the rather _avant-garde _appeal, and Alex could see this place as being a place that he could return to, when it all became too much.

It didn't take a genius to spot the necessary road; _Taiyo Street_ glaring at him like the sun it was named after, the slightly tired teen quickly dashed to the Sasagawa residence - tossing the golden plaque emblazoned with the kanji for 'Sasagawa' a tired glare.

Taking a moment to regain his composure from the mad sprint, all that he could think about was how out of shape he was.

_I don't look that much of a mess…do I?_

He made an effort to pointedly ignore the nagging voice in his head that said that, yes he looked like a wreck, and that yes, he really should work out more.

After getting his breathing under control, Alex checked the time, struggling momentarily with the sleeve of his jacket. His watch glinted in the morning dusk, and seeing that he had plenty of time to spare, absentmindedly started to brush his hair. With a few light knocks on the door, he waited patiently for someone to answer.

No-one did.

So he tried again.

Still, no-one answered.

Annoyed, he leaned against the door, feeling mutinous.

_I really should have expected this; Ryohei has the mind of a sieve. He's probably still in bed, snoring louder than his alarm, cackling evilly about his dastardly plan to make me wait outside after I made the trek over here, like the completely amazing person that I am._

Halfway through his mental rant, he did not notice the heavy footsteps on the other side of the door, left unaware of the fact that his current place of rest had disappeared from behind his back.

But he did notice the fact that he was currently falling at a _deceptively_ high speed, entering a rather _loving _relationship with the laminated floor of the Sasagawa residence.

_Joy. Just what I needed. Our first meeting outside of school to be like this. Him being in nothing but his underwear and me on the floor…just like all my first dates._

Just because he was bemoaning his existence didn't mean that he didn't notice Ryohei's eerily blank face, or that he wasn't going to help him up, forcing him to clamber to his feet pathetically. Steadying himself, he ran the brush that was still in his hand through his hair, trying to get it back into some semblance of order whilst Ryohei worked through whatever dilemma had took root in his mind.

_Why is he staring at me like that?_

"What? Is there something on my face?" Alex questioned, perturbed by Ryohei's out-of-character actions.

_There's totally something on my face, isn't there?_

"Why are you at my house, Alex?"

Alex's face soon met the floor, again. _Hard. _

Sadly enough, Alex just knew that this would be an all too familiar situation with Ryohei around.

_The things I put up with._

With a pained grin on his face, he began the lengthy explanation on just why he was there.

"Me you runny runny."

_Nailed it._

* * *

After getting his composure back together, and forcing Ryohei to get dressed into something decent whilst getting all his stuff ready, they finally got on with what they arranged to do – _date_.

..._Well, train, but its close enough to it that it could be. They are almost the same thing: they're alone_, _spending time together outside, without any outside interference…_

"You alright there?" Alex stumbled, knocked out of his reverie by Ryohei slapping into his back.

"I'm fine," Alex coughed out, the force behind the blow surprising him. They've been at it for a while now, and it was starting to confuse the red-head.

"Ryohei… How long does this usually take? Because we have been jogging for quite a while now and we need to go to school today…" He trailed off, pre-occupied with observing the plethora of emotions dash across the boxer's face, before settling on one certain emotion – shock.

The pugilist paled significantly, before doing a 180 and sprinting back the way we came - leaving Alex staring at his back in awe, before he started to follow behind doggedly.

"RY-RYOHEI! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING! WE'LL BE LATE!" Alex cried out at the steadily disappearing figure, speeding up so as to not lose sight of him. He didn't want to guess what would happen if you left him unattended, and he didn't want to risk something incredibly stupid happening – like Ryohei disappearing off the face of the Earth.

"GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL! EXTREME SPEED ENGAGED!" He roared, promptly disappearing around a corner, making what suspiciously sounded like _motorcycle noises._

_Did he just Brumm-Brumm round that corner?_

Blinking the dust out of his eyes, Alex was left wondering why he even associated with the hyper male

_How the... HOW THE… WHAT? HOW? HNGHHH. Where did he go? What did he even do? Why is he so fast? I need to catch up to him pronto, otherwise I'll be lost in the middle of Namimori. Not how I want to spend my morning at all._

He picked up the pace, not willing to let him stay out of sight. Sprinting around the corner, he followed the path of destruction left in the wake of Ryohei's rather special brand of recklessness known only as _extreme-ness_, allowing him to catch up to him.

Eye-sight melted, dissolving into tunnel-vision. All he could see was what was in front of him, leaving it up to his body to keep working, focusing intently on the fact that he has to stick with Ryohei. As a result of this temporary obliviousness, it left him open to acts of pure recklessness and simple stupidity.

In other words he just barely dodged getting hit by a car, the owner spouting expletives that would make him the envy of any sailor.

And shown once again when he ran into Ryohei's stationary back, landing roughly on his backside with a wince.

"Why have you stop-" He started, before roughly being cut off by a large hand over his mouth. All Ryohei did in response was shush him when he started to grumble, and point towards an alleyway.

Inside the alleyway, were a few third-years bullying a few first years, presumably for no reason if the victim's whimpers were anything to go by. The men seemed to be a part of Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee; if their armbands were the real things, only cementing the idea of this Disciplinary Committee being the enforcers of a tyrant.

It was pretty obvious, if you knew Ryohei, just what he wanted to do: rush in and save the day. Even Alex knew, and he had only known him for a week. Alex himself would prefer to stay out of it, and let the proper authorities know so that they could sort it out, but if the so-called 'Disciplinary Committee', a service meant to stop bad behaviour _like this_, is abusing their power by assaulting kids…

_This was really not how I wanted to spend my morning._

Surrendering to the fact that they do have to save him – as no one else will, he could only sigh at the inevitability of the situation. Alex lifted his eyes to meet Ryohei's – which were staring at him in silence, waiting for him to come to the same conclusion as he did. Nodding minutely, he waited until Ryohei removed his hand before continuing the conversation.

"We…have to do something about this, don't we?" Alex muttered, wary of making too much noise.

The question was how to go about doing it: to use a pre-emptive strike or a direct confrontation. Pondering this, he analysed the odds of the situation.

Hypothetical situation 'A', they go in guns blazing, taking down as many as possible - giving the kid enough time to get to school. This would most likely cause the most harm to Team Ryohei, but would most likely endear them to him. Then he would go talk about it with the teachers and harm the 'disciplinarians', helping everyone a lot more.

Considering the fact that there are ten men, a surprisingly large amount considering who it is they are targeting, if they are trained they'll have problems. But as it seems that they are not, Alex doubted that they'll be too difficult to dispatch be too much of a problem.

Now for hypothetical situation 'B', in which they take the less-than-honest approach of surprise attacking them whilst they are tormenting the kid. Whilst there will most likely be less injuries, the kid will probably hate them forever, as they just watched as they bullied him violently. The more he thought about it, the less and less right that option seems. They would after all be using the kid to take down the bullies. Mentally crossing off this option, he decided to screw it and let the two of them go all out.

…_I think situation A will have to work._

Preparing to tell Ryohei the plan, he was too little too late as Ryohei was already attacking the first thug viciously, knocking him out with a powerful uppercut. Turning to the next thug, he threw a couple of jabs before unleashing a punishing haymaker, sending the grunt crashing head first into the wall. Whilst he was doing this, the other thugs were making their way over there to attack him whilst his back was turned.

Not about to let this happen, he looked around for anything to fight with.

Picking up a battered pipe and a trash-can lid to use as a make shift shield, Alex leapt forward to cover his friend. Staring down the closest thug, he didn't have any time to think before he was on him, raining down punches. Manoeuvring around the fist, he bashed the side of the metal lid on the man's face, dazing him and sending him to his knees. Using his bent over body as a spring-board, he leapt into the air and brought the battered pipe down on one of the remaining members head, knocking him clean out.

_Oh wow, I'm a bad-ass._

Unfortunately, as he was unused to fighting, he was unable to regain his balance in time, leaving him open to a powerful kick to the stomach from a nearby foe. The air knocked clean out of him, he dropped the pipe in favour of cradling his wounded stomach. If he was alone, this would have spelt the end of him.

But, he wasn't alone, and Ryohei was more than enough to finish the last two guys with a few well-placed punches.

_Maybe I'm not so much a bad-ass…_

Taking the offered hand, he got up, using Ryohei as support.

Quickly balancing himself, he re-equipped the dropped pipe, wielding it like a short sword. Only two remained from the onslaught, the two unknowns picked off by Ryohei whilst Alex was busy being attacked, showing their true colours as they ran for the hills.

Taking a deep breath inwards in an attempt to alleviate the pain in his gut, he turned his gaze to the awestruck kid. Walking towards him, Ryohei leant down to check if there was anything else wrong with him, other than the light cuts on his arms.

"Hey kid, are you extremely okay?" Ryohei questioned, fretting over the kid's wellbeing, like a muscular mother hen. The kid turned glittering eyes towards him, and suddenly hugged him, crying happy tears into his shoulder.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You were all like 'EXTREME' and she was all like 'BASH' and then you saved her from the bad guys and then you went to check up on her like the hero and the heroine and then I was all _kawaiiiiiiiiiiii_. Anyway, I need to get to school. Bye extreme dude, bye pretty lady, I'll be sure to tell all my friends about this?" The kid cried out, talking animatedly and mimicking what happened in the fight with humorous body language before dashing off, heading towards his school.

Smiling fondly as the kid faded from sight, he turned to follow Ryohei before freezing.

_Wait…_

"Ryohei… I have a question."

Ryohei grunted, as if to say 'shoot'.

"Did… Did I just get called a 'pretty lady' by a kid?" Alex asked, almost dreading the answer. Ryohei paused, before a manic grin cost his face, erupting into hysterics.

"HE DID! I'm the EXTREME DUDE, so you must be the PRETTY LADY," the colour drained from his face as Ryohei sunk into even deeper hysterics.

Alex face-planted, landing in an undignified heap on some rubbish.

"I don't want to get up… SO…. EMBARRASSED!" the pipe-toting teen moaned, before being picked up by Ryohei and slung over his shoulder like a pack of potatoes.

"Come, pretty lady, LET THIS EXTREME BOXER CARRY YOU TO SAFETY" Ryohei gallantly roared, before running the rest of the way to his house, Alex pouting the whole way.

_Does he still think I'm a girl?_

Alex prayed that he hadn't forgotten, being hit on by a creep with a pompadour haircut wasn't something he spent his time actively searching out, and he made enough of a scene for everyone in the nearby vicinity of forever know about his gender.

* * *

"Alex-san?"

Sat precariously on the edge of the roof, Alex tilted his head to the side, eying the newcomer in curiosity. Tsuna looked hesitant, almost afraid about being here, his voice wavering on that odd precipice between absolutely petrified and anxious. It was almost as if he was waiting for something completely and utterly horrific to happen any minute now.

"Yea, what is it?" Alex huffed out, speaking in between mouthfuls of rice.

_Yea, I must look like the very epitome of sophistication._

"Why did you say to meet up here, of all places?" Tsuna's voice still held that element of fear, "I mean, don't you know that Hibari-san comes here often?"

"Hibari?" Alex tasted the name, as if he had heard that name before.

"…The person that me and Mama told you about?" his voice finally lost that edge, it quickly replaced by exasperation.

Alex just grunted, not really seeing why everyone was afraid of the tyrant. With a careful flick, he moved a few errant strands of copper from his eyesight, returning his thought to the students mingling below.

_I can see why the Skylark likes it here so much…_

And he really did. The Brit acknowledged the fact that, like his namesakes, he must like being so high above the ground, and with a rueful smirk he wondered if maybe that was why Hibari was so violent, if the rumours were to be believed.

"What a rather sad individual." Alex remarked, ignoring the shocked look on the younger boy's face. "Anyway, how's your day been?"

Tsuna was still staring at him.

"What, have I got something on my face?" A look in his phone's camera later told him that no, nothing was on his face and it was just Tsuna being strange.

"There is something a bit off with you."

…_what?_

"What is that supposed to mean?" If Alex's voice rose a few octaves neither of them mentioned it.

"…It's probably just a cultural thing."

Alex wondered if he was supposed to just shrug it off, ignore it, to tell his curiosity to just stuff it. It didn't take a genius to see that Tsuna did not want to talk about it.

"So, yea, how has your day been? Get anywhere with that girlfriend of yours?" Thoroughly relishing in the shriek in reply, Alex supposed that he could ignore it, pretend that he hadn't heard what Tsuna said.

"Kyoko is _not_ my girlfriend!"

"How did you know that I was talking about _Kyoko-san? _And really, _Kyoko? _No honorifics? You must really be close," the Brit picked up his chopsticks – _when did he put them down_ – returning to the bento he made, "When should I expect the wedding?"

"Who said you were invited?" Was Tsuna's arch response, bewildering the auburn male.

"I did."

"Well you're not. It's family only."

"I'll wedding crash. Don't think that I won't. It'll be like in all them animes – I'll just crash through the stain glass windows, or burst through a wall, hell I'd probably dress up as the priest…and wait _Ryohei's _invited but I'm not?"

Tsuna just _stared _at him. _Hard. _"Who's Ryohei?"

Ales couldn't help but wonder how on Earth he knew more about Tsuna's crush than even Tsuna himself.

"…Are you sure you like this girl? I mean, what has you so attracted to her anyway?" Tsuna paused, as if he was unsure on what made him so attracted to her anyway.

The heavy silence spoke enough.

"She's nice?" Tsuna finally decided on, as if it was the answer to all of his problems.

_Just what sort of life has he lived to develop a crush on someone because they were nice?_

"…Okay."

"You know, Tsuna, its odd," the chopsticks dropped once more, "the number of stares I get it is unnerving. It's like, I'm something that they have never seen before, and there stares dissect my every move," crimson bento tossed aside, "sometimes, I want to punch their face in. They're all so bloody curious, but do you know how many people have come up to me to talk to me over this last week? No-one. Absolutely no-one," his bitter tone spoke volumes.

Back in the U.K, he wasn't used to such crushing loneliness. He was always popular, to a certain extent, and he never felt that he was ever alone. But here, it sometimes felt like that the only person that was there for him was Ryohei, and Tsuna. Everyone else looked at him as if he was alien, _foreign, _and to be perfectly honest he _hated it with a passion._

"How, how do you cope with it? How do you cope with the loneliness? How do you cope with the thought that people just look at you, not seeing you but instead seeing a _goddamn stereotype? _You know what they call me? _Onee-san. _I may be a _filthy Gaijin _but I know the god-forsaken stereotypes of that particular word." Alex was ranting and for once he really didn't care, held in the throes of some deep-seated anger that had been festering for weeks.

"I've been propositioned four times by guys who just want to look cool by having a foreign _girlfriend_, asked for a bloody _menu _by a creepy old man and the teachers look at me as if I'm some death trap waiting to happen." Alex was stopped from continuing by a sharp slap to the face, stunning him momentarily.

"You alright now?" Tsuna smiled, seeing the other males nod. "You know it is best not to think about. These things tend to work themselves out eventually," his smile was eerily similar to his mother, and Alex couldn't help but trust in his words.

"...I'm sorry, Tsuna."

"D-Don't worry."

The silence that followed was, surprisingly, not awkward – and they remained that way until the bell resounded, calling them in.

* * *

Teenagers, flocked in droves, rushing out of the school gates in a mad dash to get home. Walking up to the gates, Alex and Ryohei made small talk before they had to part ways, going in separate directions.

_Now where's Tsuna?_

Waiting for Tsuna to arrive, Alex leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to block out the sun's rays.

Thinking back to the events of this morning, he couldn't help but think he needed a weapon. Alex needed a way to get a weapon, and fast, especially if events like before were common place in Namimori – and he needed to rush in and save the day again.

The only problem was who would sell a short sword and a shield in this era? Guns have pretty much made blades obsolete, because of the painfully true fact that you need no serious training to wield one skilfully - all you need to do is pull the trigger.

He could try and find someone selling a gun, but Alex knew for sure that something like a handgun was just asking for him to shoot himself in the foot.

First things first, he needed to ask around, but no one he knew would have any idea where to look. Tsuna has probably never even seen a weapon before outside of the T.V, Nana is too naïve and Ryohei…is just Ryohei. He uses his fists, so why would he need to know where a weapons shop is?

And that's under the assumption that there even was a weapon shop anywhere. Chances are, they don't even exist, and him actively hunting one down would be both pointless and ineffectual.

Hearing a 'thud' in the distance, he opened his eyes, assuming that the person who tripped was the person he was waiting for - Tsunayoshi Sawada. The brunette's distinct hair answered the question; so with a sigh he made his way over to help him up and on his way. Noticing Alex coming, he smiled in relief before stumbling up to him.

"What exactly are you doing here, Alex-san? Aren't you going with elder Sasagawa-san today?" Tsuna asked, confused by the fact that he stayed behind for him.

"I decided to walk home with you today. After all, I felt kind of sad that I pretty much always ditch you for Ryohei." Alex almost cringed at how bad that sounded, but Tsuna seemed to take no heed to it.

"Thank you" Tsuna murmured, simply grateful to not be alone.

Alex was struck then by just how similar the two of them were. It struck a chord in him, a keening wail, and for the life of him he just couldn't comprehend _it. _It was depressing just how happy he made Tsuna just by joining him, and he honestly pitied him.

"No problem. I do live with you after all" The conversation died out soon after that statement, ushering in a new, surprisingly comfortable silence as they made their way home.

The walk home was neither long nor tiring, the duo making their way there in a practiced pace. Quickly coming up to the front gate, Alex stopped, pausing momentarily as he thought something over.

"…tutor…" Alex mumbled; face twisting momentarily as he seemed to be grasping at something inside his head. Brightening, he turned to Tsuna, excitement all over his face.

"Tsuna…" He started, staring at Tsuna with a mischievous glint in his eye. Staring back into his eyes reproachfully, Tsuna couldn't help but shiver at the proclamation of doom that followed.

"Do you know what you need?"

"…Yes?" Tsuna was hesitant, warning bells sounding like klaxons in his head, as if the very next statement would bring about the Apocalypse.

"A Tutor."

* * *

**_Chapter 3, Fin~_**

**_Line breaks should appear, if they don't then it is the work of evil._**

**_This chapter was beast moded two days ago, and I'm just getting it out today. Also special thanks to The Lazy Bitch and Dark Murcielago for helping me decide on what to keep. _**

**_Once more, if there are any questions, don't be afraid to ask._**

**_Also, shameless self plug here, but I have another story up called 'Colore della Nebbia', which is a reincarnation ficcy if you're into them._**

**_Review Corner:_**

**_The Lazy Bitch:_ ****I don't really think that many people like the secretary lol, she isn't really supposed to be a likable character. I essentially put the bitchiest individual I could into the role. But don't worry, she isn't going to be sticking around for long, she is there for that one point in the story. And lol, Alex is being a very cool badass, but that wont really last long - it will all go downhill from here~ ANyway, thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :D**

_**So now I do replies to reviews too~**_

**_And thanks for the good reception - 4 Reviews/8 Favs/11 Follows - and I hope you continue to enjoy the story :D_**

**_Regards, HalcyonNight. _**


	4. Quattro: Reborn

**_Disclaimer: All of the characters, except Alex, aren't mine. Sadly._**

**_Also, hope you enjoy this chapter. This is when things start getting long O.O. This chappie came to 5000 words, and I was almost tempted to cut it in half but I thought 'nah, no point'._**

**_Anyway, let's begin._**

* * *

_Something feels off. Eerily off._

Alex sat down on a chair in the dining room, which was adjacent to the kitchen, a scarlet towel tightly clenched in his hands as he rubbed it into his damp, dripping hair – attempting to dry it without making too much of a mess.

Nana flitted around the kitchen, getting started on cooking breakfast for herself, Alex and Tsuna - who was still not up yet.

It was almost painful how predictable the youth was.

Alex stood up, and with a light pat of his hair he deemed his hair to be dry enough. His bare feet slapped lightly on the tiles as he entered the kitchen, eyes scanning the table-tops for his prey. Innocuous, a pair of neatly wrapped bentos was left on the counter, one green, and the other yellow. With a cautious hand, he picked them up gently so that the carefully done knots didn't unravel; he slipped them into his bag for safekeeping.

He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

That something had gone horribly, _horribly _wrong in the world.

Frown engraved on his face, he snagged a slice of toast from one of the plates that Nana had set up extravagantly, tearing into it gracelessly. Nana was staring, exasperation evident in her eyes, as Alex tried to balance both his bag and the slice of toast, before eventually taking pity and taking the slice away from him, so that he could finally sling his bag around his shoulder.

"Thank," Alex was cut off by Nana unceremoniously jamming the slice back into his mouth, mischievous smile on her face, having waited until he'd opened his mouth to speak.

Leaving the boy choking in disbelief around the piece of dried bread.

_Cute, Nana, real cute._

Tearing it out, he glared at the giggling woman, not even deigning to respond to her actions. Back to her, he made sure to sniff in annoyance on his way out; he didn't even look back as her slightly hysterical laughter increased in pitch and volume.

If you asked him, it sounded like a bizarre mixture of a hyena and a gremlin.

The teen slipped into a pair of shoes, well aware that Tsuna was still asleep; escaping the house before he suffered any further at Nana's cruel, _cruel _hands and set out for Ryohei's house.

Every morning, when they go to school, they would meet up and go together. They had made it a _thing_. Well, he says that, but as it turned out Ryohei demanded it, and when left in a tired stupor after training it was better to just accept whatever the boxer threw at you.

He had tried to get Tsuna involved to, seeing it as a way to get Tsuna some more friends, but the poor boy didn't want anything to do with physical exercise, spouting something about Chihuahuas and attraction that didn't really make sense. Unfortunately, try as he might, Alex couldn't get him to join them, and no amount of wheedling was able to change his mind.

To be honest, Alex wouldn't really want to go either. The only reason why he was able to function so damn early in the morning was because his body clock was still messed up, and leaving an hour early would have destroyed him if he was back in the U.K.

_That, and Tsuna's room is a battlefield that I do not want to go near. The horror of what on Earth is under that mess…it would probably eat me up._

Shivering at the unknown horror, he thought that it was better left to the professionals to get through that mess.

…If, by professionals, you mean Nana Sawada, then it is better left to her - she's a veteran with this sort of thing. Plus, it also acts as revenge for that prank she pulled only minutes before, so the least she could do was wake her son up somewhat early.

With a mirthful smile on his face, he increased his pace – speeding past the small figure that was on the way to the Sawada household.

Not even batting an eye at the speeding boy, the fedora-wearing baby just continued on his way.

After all, it had nothing to do with his mission.

Arriving at the front door, Alex knocked on the door, brushing his dishevelled and slightly damp hair so that it doesn't dry in a mess. Patiently waiting for the door to be opened, he just brushed it flat. There was nothing he could really do to it, regrettably, so he just put the brush away.

Hearing the heavy footsteps approaching the door, he stood back, straightening his uniform a bit to give of an illusion of order. It wouldn't do for Ryohei's parents to answer and see him look like the human equivalent of Tsuna's room.

The door opened, revealing a young girl around Tsuna's age, who answered with a slightly bewildered expression on her face, as if trying to place him. Smiling, he introduced himself to the girl, before asking if he could come in.

"Oh, pardon me, but do I know you," Alex replied with a no, but that he was here for Ryohei, "You're here for Ryohei?" It seemed as if she was slightly stunned, as if unused to the question.

"Yup, normally he's up and about at this time. Is it alright if I come in to wait for him, I don't really want to wait out here in the cold if he isn't even up yet." Alex wasn't going to wait outside for anybody.

"Umm, sorry about that, but it's nice to see that he is friends with girls. Onii-san doesn't really seem to have many friends, so I was somewhat shocked to see a pretty girl like you waiting for him. Are you his girlfriend? Why didn't he tell me? Oh yeah! Why are you not in the girl's school uniform?" The unnamed girl continued on, cheery and happy, as if completely oblivious to the fact that she had just brutally crushed the red-head's manhood.

Ignoring his shocked face and indignant splutters, she head to the staircase, shouting for Ryohei, telling him that someone was at the door waiting for him, in a deceptively sweet voice. Hearing him move around upstairs, she shouted once more.

"Ryohei-nii, there is a cute girl here to see you! Please can you come downstairs now?" She called, saccharine poison dripping from her every word. The brunette turned, before smiling a smile that almost matched Tsuna's in its naïveté at the absolutely mortified red-head.

Said mortified _male _ginger was absolutely speechless grasping at straws as he tried to come up with something to say, something that would actually make sense.

Finally managing to come up with something smart, he was a little too late as Ryohei barrelled down the stairs, dressed in the Namimori Middle uniform. When his eyes caught the image of his smiling sister near to the pale Alex, his mind instantly connected the dots.

And he literally erupted into loud, raucous laughter, bordering on hysterical.

Glowing a brilliant red, Alex managed to calm down enough to inform Kyoko that he was not wearing the female uniform as 'A': he wasn't a girl and 'B': that skirt was far too small, on a windy day you're going to be unlucky to say the least.

Making Ryohei degenerate into even more hysterics.

_Why am I friends with him again?_

"Oh…" She muttered, trailing off into silence, before bursting into giggles alongside Ryohei. All Alex could do was bemoan his current existence, pondering over how to murder them and make it look like an accident, and wait for the Sasagawa siblings to calm down enough to get in a word edge-wise.

After a few more moments of unrestrained laughter and innocent giggles, Alex had enough, storming up to the pair; he flicked Kyoko on the forehead whilst bashing Ryohei on the back of the head with his brush. Waiting patiently for Ryohei to stop moaning, he turned to the pouting Kyoko, with a satisfied smile written in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have your name yet, and it just doesn't feel right going around and calling you Ryohei's sister." Alex asked; curiosity obvious in his voice. She replied with her name, before walking out of the house declaring that 'she needed to leave extra-early to do something'.

_That was…abrupt. She's up to something._ Staring questioningly at her retreating back, he shrugged it off, turning to Ryohei.

"Have you even eaten anything yet?" Seeing him shake his head in negative, he sighed, then asking for the whereabouts of the kitchen. Once known, he walked purposefully into it, setting to work on making the buffoon something substantial to eat.

Ryohei just stood in the doorway hovering, looking decidedly awkward. Alex didn't know why, it wasn't as if he was snarling at him to get out of his kitchen or anything.

Alex served the dish up, giving it to Ryohei to eat. Whilst he's getting that out of the way, Alex decided to spend his time doing some maths homework that he didn't bother doing the night before.

Pythagoras, trigonometry, graphs: if you could name it, it was on there. And Alex hated it. Despised it. Maths was by far his weakest subject, but if there was one thing he could do it was Pythagoras, and with relative ease he blitzed through the questions.

Whoever said Maths was logical needed to be shot.

"Ryohei, I don't suppose you know what the answer to question F is? My calculator just keeps on getting Syntax errors," the boxer just grunted, as if it was the answer to all life's problems.

_He probably doesn't even know we have homework._

Just deciding to screw it, he jotted down a little note for some extra supervision in that area, before placing the paper back in his bag.

By this point, Ryohei was nearly done, scraping the plate clean. Without a word he packed the utensils up – it wouldn't do for Ryohei's parents to see him leave a mess; he wanted to make a damn good first impression.

Though in saying that, in the weeks he's been around, he hadn't seen the parents around at all. It was odd, almost as if they didn't exist.

Alex took the plate of the boxer in question, and put it in the sink, absently noting the exuberant 'thank you' from the full child, he laughed, telling him not to mention it. A quick glimpse of the time told him that they had been there for an _hour and holy they were gonna be late if they didn't get a move on._ With a muttered curse, Alex dragged a confused Ryohei (by the hand) outside the house.

The sun had risen by the time they got out, where it had been dusk when he left, signalling just how much time he spent at the Sasagawa residence.

"Umm, Alex, where we going?" Ryohei asked, somehow managing to look confused and certain at the same time, as he was dragged in the direction of the school. All Alex could do was simultaneously sigh at his bad memory and raise an eyebrow at the flailing boy.

"Ryohei… We have to go to school today. And, you know, get there on time. I can't exactly just use the same excuse twice." He said, focusing more on what's in front of him then the white-haired boxer.

Which proved to be his undoing.

A moment later their positions were reversed, and suddenly Alex felt as if he was flying through the air at supersonic speeds.

"STOP! RYOHEI! We have enough time to walk there if we are quick!" Alex managed to force out through the buffeting winds. Somehow, someway, he managed to get through to him, as Ryohei slowed, allowing him to place his feet back on land. On his knees panting, he tried to get his breathe back, one hand on his chest trying to soothe the ache and the other in a _bloody death grip._

"Ryohei…" he started, trailing off in uncertainty, as he stared at their conjoined hands, hoping and praying that he'd be able to use the hand again.

Ryohei, keeping true to his oblivious self, didn't notice anything.

"What, Alex, speak up. You're making me EXTREMELY worried here…" Ryohei muttered, keeping his voice uncharacteristically quiet – or well, as quiet as Ryohei could manage.

"We seem to be, y'know, umm… how do I say this? Still… y'know… _holding hands,_" somehow, he managed to spit out, voice reaching an impressive soprano, blushing colourfully in anger as he did so.

Ryohei let go with an inaudible 'oh', before quickly recovering, leaving only a faint blush as the only sign that he had been affected. Taking deep breaths to calm down, Alex trailed behind Ryohei like a sheep stumbling after a shepherd, as Ryohei himself was shadow boxing an invisible foe. The punches seem to flow a lot more now, certainly better than they were previously when they fought off them thugs.

After that incident, Ryohei seemed to train even harder than before, dragging the Brit along for the ride. Punches, kicks, he even trained _head-butts _of all things. It was a strange few weeks, that's for sure, but at least Alex could dodge a lot better now.

"ALEX! My punches seem especially extreme today! Box with me," Ryohei all but demanded to the red-head, eager as always to show-off his skill for boxing.

"It's not as if I have an option, do I?" Though his words sounded tired, Alex's tone said otherwise, and whilst smiling, he chucked a couple of weak punches to placate the taller male.

Seemingly deeming that to be satisfactory, Ryohei continued on his way, jabbing the air in front of him with a fire burning in his eyes. Alex stopped the light punches when he saw that he no longer held his peer's attention, focusing more on brushing his finally dry hair into perfection.

Just as he was putting the finishing touches to it, he was distracted by a fast approaching blur, who seemed to be clad in only _boxers?_

_Wait, what?_

On closer inspection to the dust cloud, he could make out a very familiar person steamrolling down the path.

_I am twelve and why is Tsuna nearly naked?_

Tsuna seemed to be focused on only one thing, if the repeated calls of 'Kyoko-chan' were anything to go by. It shocked Ryohei enough to stop him boxing, an impressive feat in and of itself, but Alex was still trying to link superhuman abilities with being half-naked.

"…Extreme," Ryohei was almost salivating at the mouth, in awe of this mystery being, "but is he about to run into that truck?" Somehow that made him even more desirable to the sterling haired male.

"I don't know… but..." Alex continued for the stunned boxer, before noticing the exact same truck.

"WATCH OUT" They shouted in unison, attempting to warn the young brunette not to run into its path. Unfortunately, they were a little too late, and with a surreal 'boing', the truck hit its victim, killing him instantly.

Or not.

Watching with ample disbelief, they saw the supposed to be wounded boy careen through the air, before rebounding of a nearby building's rails. Flipping magnificently, all they could do was watch with wide eyes as he launched towards the unsuspecting Mochida. Tsuna crash landed right in front of him, tossing Mochida over the school gates – not even caring about his safety – and turning around to face the stunned Kyoko.

"Please will you go out with me" He screamed to the world, stunning the surrounding crowd and the vigilante duo, into silence. A rather awkward settled heavily, with Tsuna's outstretched hand being ignored as Kyoko stared pointedly at his lack of clothes.

Or more specifically his blue boxers, which were all that remained when he went into 'Dying Will' mode.

_What a pervert…_

"What's the big deal? Tsuna just asked her on a date. It's not as if she will run off screaming or something?" Alex asked Ryohei, but was ignored in favour of the 'What the Fuck' moment that just happened in front of half the school.

The bewildered boy was long gone, stuck in a state between awe and brotherly overprotectiveness; Alex rolled his eyes as the boxer's brain pretty much melted inside his head. Dragging his partner in crime with him, he made his way through the crowd, aiming in Tsuna's general direction.

"Ryohei, could you do me a favour? I just want to check something out, so could you go up to lesson and tell them I'll be there in a moment? Ok, thanks." Alex asked, not even waiting for a reply before pushing him towards the school gates and into the school.

It seemed that whilst he was doing that, the black haired boy had punched Tsuna in the face, dragging Kyoko into the school.

"What a freak," rushing to help Tsuna up, he made a rude gesture at the tall boy's back, and took in the site of a half-naked Tsuna.

"You okay? Actually, don't answer that, it's a stupid question. You don't look as if you are. So… what exactly was that just now? And why did it make you border-line naked and set your hair on fire? Why were..." The more questions he asked, the more that came to mind, leaving Tsuna to deal with a hurricane of questions.

Tsuna was saved when a harsh blow made the curious boy face-plant into the ground.

_Who the fuck just did that?_

Pushing himself up off the ground, he looked around, scanning with furious eyes for the individual who attacked him. Seeing no one, he looked down, annoyance blazing like wild-fire in his eyes at not being able to find the culprit.

Ironically enough, it led him straight to the perpetrator. Furious orbs gazed into the beetle-black eyes of his assailant, who only smirked up in sadistic glee.

_What a… Demonic Baby. I never would usually have thought of this but, I really, really want to get Ryohei to punch this gremlin in the face. _His ire only grew stronger, as the baby gave him a shark-like smile.

_It's not as if he could read minds, or anything, right?_

_Right?_

"Baka-Alex, I can. Your thoughts are certainly amusing, if not violent. But being flat-chested must do that to a girl. My name's Reborn, and before you ask what I am, I'm Tsuna's home tutor." Devilish smile in place, he made his way away from Alex, and in Tsuna's general direction.

Alex couldn't help but think that this whole thing was his fault, as if he had brought this goblin to Namimori, but for the life of him he couldn't remember why.

The goblin in question just handed Tsuna his clothes and bag, leaving the fuming boy to simmer as he explained the mechanics of the 'Dying Will' bullet.

"The 'dying will' bullet does exactly as it says on the tin. It unlocks your dying will." Reborn lectured, pulling out a teachers crest and placing it on his fedora.

"So what does it actually do?" Tsuna asked, confused at the unfamiliar phrase, whilst he was getting dressed.

Prompting Reborn to dropkick him for interrupting.

"I was getting too that, Dame-Tsuna. The 'Dying Will' bullet unlocks all inhibitors in the body, making you fit the moniker of super-human perfectly. That means you can do almost anything, survive anything, and overcome any obstacle in your way!" Reborn continued on, becoming more and more passionate the further he talked.

"The flame that burns upon your forehead is your 'Dying Will' flame. It's different for each person, utterly dependant on your personality and family." Reborn finished off, looking around at the awed faces, and smirking at the slight victory over Alex, who schooled his face to a cold one, glaring piercingly at the Arcobaleno.

"Hah, well that's nice and all, but what's the down-side to it" Alex said, shooting down Reborn's winning streak before it could continue. The brat didn't need to inflate his own ego more than it already has been. Reborn turned, staring at him whilst thinking of an appropriate answer, but was interrupted by the appearance of a newcomer.

Blazer carried over his shoulder; he looked the very picture of 'tall, dark and handsome'. It was obvious that he had a fan-club if his looks said anything about him. Steely-blue eyes bore holes into the trio, daring them to say anything about him. Clad in the school uniform, and standing taller than any of the others, he walked towards them, a bright orange armband shining proudly on his arm, shouting out to the world that he was the head prefect of the 'Disciplinary Committee'.

Alex felt that he wasn't going to like him, at all.

_He looks a bit like a triangle with eyes._

Staring apprehensively at his imposing figure, he tensed, feeling that this was someone that he had to skirt around or else he'll be torn to shreds. Meeting his eyes, he refused to show any sort of fear, and find out just who this person is. Stepping closer, ignoring the quivering Tsuna and curious Reborn, he manoeuvred his way to the front.

"Who are you? And why on Earth are you coming near us?" He all but snarled, feeling unnerved by the oppressing aura the Skylark emitted. It seemed that he wasn't expecting that response, or for someone to take the initiative when talking to him. That short flicker of surprise soon turned to steely hate, as the atmosphere started to build up with tension.

A confrontation was going to start soon, and if Alex knew that the outcome wouldn't be pretty.

"He's Hibari-san, leader of the disciplinary committee." Tsuna, in an attempt to dissipate the tension, answered his question before Hibari could respond. However, this backfired, as the tension just seemed to sky-rocket at that point. If glares could kill, Hibari would be six-feet under by now, and Alex himself even more so. An oppressive silence lay over the area, before Hibari's baritone tore through it like a predator.

"Classes are starting. Get to class before I bite you to death," he ordered, tone nowhere near friendly.

"So he is the leader of that so called Disciplinary Committee then, huh?" Alex commented, eyebrow raised, showing he was feeling less than impressed with the committee leader. Feeling Tsuna's fear, he sighed, allowing himself to be dragged away as he was forced into the school. Before waiting for a reply, and before he was out of hearing range, he made one last remark, shocking Tsuna momentarily and making Hibari's anger skyrocket.

"You should control your thugs better, if you are what you say you are, and stop disturbing the peace your committee is apparently trying _oh so desperately _to maintain. Power corrupts, and your little committee is nothing but a power-crazy gang rife with corruption. Get your head screwed on before you undo yourselves, you arrogant, self-centered, egotistical hypocrite." Alex called out as he was dragged along, away from the both shocked and angry prefect.

Leaving Reborn to deal with the angry Skylark in his place.

Feeling proud of his rant at Hibari, he stepped away from Tsuna when they reached the point where they had to split up, cooling himself down by taking deep breathes. Climbing the stairs, he didn't bother worrying about the repercussions of his actions, and what the Skylark might do in response to his angry words.

One thing was for certain though; it was war between Alex Ivy and Hibari Kyouya, and Alex didn't intend to lose to the wrathful teenager.

Even if he was drop-dead gorgeous.

* * *

With his head held high, he made his way through the doorway and into his classroom. The teacher only nodded in response – Ryohei must have given a decent excuse if he was allowed to just waltz into the classroom without a care in the world. Sitting down next to Ryohei, who was fast asleep, he tuned into the conveniently gossiping girls right behind him.

It seemed they were talking about a fight that would be going on at lunch - ignoring his yet to be taken out journal (for now) in favour of listening in to the conversation taking place right behind him.

"Oh my days, did you hear?" Gossiping girl 'A'…well, gossiped to the girl next to her.

"What?" She replied, curiosity dripping from her voice.

"Mochida-kun has challenged Dame-Tsuna to a kendo match during lunch"

"No way."

"Yea way."

"Do you think he'll run?"

"Obviously." That was all he could hear from the two gossiping girls before the entire conversation degenerated into giggles and perverted mumbles.

He didn't care though – he got what he wanted from the two, so they can continue their conversation away from his eavesdropping ears. Alex turned towards the slumbering Ryohei nudging him until he was awake, eager to tell him the news. Blearily opening his eyes, Ryohei let out a loud yawn, before turning to Alex confused.

"Why did you wake me up?" He questioned, confused by the random awakening. Not skipping a beat, Alex informed the energetic boxer about the kendo match that would take place in the main sports hall. At the mention of a fight, Ryohei became absolutely ecstatic, eager as always to see some organised violence.

"EXTREME! We are going to see it, right? But what about the Boxing Club?" Ryohei asked, double-checking with Alex on what they were doing.

"The Boxing Club will most likely be empty whilst people watch the match, but we can go do that later, after we watch it ourselves," Alex replied, already figuring out what to do to placate the anxious boxer, "Plus, your brand new man crush Tsuna will be there."

And that was that.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as the duo anxiously waited for the lunch bell to ring, signalling the beginning of one of the most talked about events in Namimori Middle at the moment.

Having an idea on what to do, he managed to slow down Ryohei enough to tell him it, and to take him to the school's field trip cupboard. Once arriving there, he set to work rummaging through the unused equipment, before settling on an unused, crimson picnic blanket. Taking the wrapped bundle, he left the room, following behind the running Ryohei, almost as eager to see the fight as he was.

He may be Tsuna's friend and not want him to fight, but he needed someone there to support him.

After all, with his reputation, it doesn't seem like anyone believes in him.

Tsuna deserves someone cheering him on.

-(Emergency Scene Break incase the lines don't show up again)-

* * *

_Hurry up Tsuna… You're going to lose if you don't arrive here sometime soon… Can't you see he wants you to run away from this?_

Alex anxiously stared at the doorway to the large sports hall, silently pleading to whatever deity out there that he arrives, and fast.

Mochida had just announced that if he doesn't arrive soon, Tsuna will automatically forfeit the match, letting Mochida win by default. Ryohei could only stare at the anxious teen, before deciding to try and calm him down. He tried poking him to get his attention, but it failed when he just shrugged it off.

Thinking fast, he needed to find a way of getting his mind away from the wayward Tsuna, before his mood dissolves into despair. So he did the one thing that would be sure to grab his attention.

He hugged him. Tightly.

"Don't worry about it! I'm sure he'll turn up. It wouldn't be extreme to leave a 'pretty lady' like you waiting, hmm, and Tsuna is a very extreme person?" He grinned, as the feminine boy erupted into a hissing ball of anger, ready to gut him where he stands. Or sits, considering the fact that they were sitting on that red blanket eating the two bentos he prepared earlier.

Just as he was about to absolutely _eviscerate_ the traitor, he leaned his head on top of his, making the boy in his arms still.

"After all, I know I would"

Leaving the Brit a vibrant red and Ryohei himself guffawing at him.

It seemed that Ryohei didn't realise how what he did could be interpreted, so Alex decide to ignore it in favour of his bento. Snapping the chopsticks, he all but groaned when Ryohei just steamrolled through it.

He decided that he hated chop-sticks, as his abysmal skill gave Ryohei even more ammo to use in teasing him with. Sighing, he picked up a hastily erected sign to cheer him on, standing up at the very front of the crowd with Ryohei, fully prepared to cheer Tsuna on when he get there.

Just as he was about to give up hope on Tsuna actually turning up, the double doors slammed open, signalling his appearance. Beaming in absolute relief, he started to cheer on Tsuna as the others jeered at him. Tsuna himself seemed to shrink at the abuse thrown at him, which aggravated Alex to the extreme.

Quickly noticing his rising temper, Ryohei took a step away in an effort to not be made a target of his ire. Sadly, before he could erupt, the match began, with only a minority supporting Tsuna. This, whilst sad, was not surprising - considering the fact that he was running away from the aggressive Mochida instead of attacking.

All hope seemed lost when Mochida knocked out his legs, causing him to fall to the floor in fear. Biting his lip, worried that he was going to get pummelled, he turned to Ryohei for assurance. But this was for naught, as not even Ryohei had a smile on his face at the beating Tsuna was getting.

Unable to take it anymore, he closed his eyes, unwilling to see him get beaten. He was prepared to hear Tsuna's cries, not him to suddenly shout 'Reborn' and turn into his Dying Will form.

His eyes shot open, before both Ryohei's and his smiles went supernova. It seemed that he was fully prepared to turn the tide of battle and crush the arrogance out of the pompous jerk. The brunette charged forward, shattering the wooden bamboo of the opponent's weapon into tiny slivers – the splinters raining down like confetti. Crashing into him, he straddled the sword-wielder and roughly clenched his hair.

"How about HYAKU-PON" He roared, yanking bundles of hair rapidly, throwing it away rapidly before reaching for more. Throughout this spectacle the referee could only watch in shock as Mochida's hair rapidly dwindled into non-existence.

When noticing the fact that Mochida had nothing left, the arm holding Tsuna's flag shot up, declaring him as the winner.

As the hall erupted into absolute chaos, Alex turned to Ryohei, meeting his own mega-watt smile with his own happy one.

Guess like Tsuna didn't need anyone worrying about his well-being after all, huh?

* * *

**_Chapter 4, End._**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, but I have an important question to ask. I don't suppose that there is a Beta out there in the world I can acquire the skill of for this story, right? Because I think I really need one.**

**If there is, PM me. Or say you are willing in a review. Thank you in advance.**

**Anyway, Thank you for the 6 reviews/9 favs/14 follows, it really means a lot to me~**

** Until next time, HalcyonNight**


	5. Cinque: Angst

**_Disclaimer: I only own Alex so far._**

**_This chapter feels off to me. Like super off. And do you all check my profile to keep up to date with how much of a chapter I've completed, because if you are curious about how far along I am with a chapter just check up there :D,_**

**_IMPORTANT: This story follows the Manga mostly, but is influenced also by the Anime. So Yamamoto won't just pop up out of nowhere like a ninja as he did in the Anime. I just thought that this would be important to state here and now._**

**_Also, still hunting for a Beta to check my spelling, punctuation and grammar. I feel like they'll be able to help me with sentence structure immensely. And writing this makes me realise how much I miss first person, as strange as that is._**

**_Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and remember to PM/put down in a review anything that confuses you._**

* * *

_This could have gone better._

"Ryohei!" Alex all but screamed, diving out of the way of an incoming fist with a surprising deftness, sweat dripping of his brow.

The boxer, too far in his element to respond, could only respond by pressing the attack, jabbing relentlessly at the red-head, who almost looked like he was dancing around the blows. With no verbal response forth-coming, all Alex could do was evade the fists and pray to whatever deity that felt like being charitable at this moment in time to give him something to work with.

If he was just a bit stronger, a bit faster, then he could take advantage of the openings left when Ryohei was recovering. But unfortunately, he was neither – something he would have to remedy quickly, as something tells him that if he continued to associate with Ryohei he'd need to get strong, fast.

Being friends with Ryohei meant that, no matter what, you had to be strong enough to protect yourself.

And that could be from anything really: bullies, heart-ache, and even the world – you had to be prepared to face everything head on. It may seem taxing, but it was certainly worth it; Alex has never had so much fun before in his life, whilst in Namimori, more so than he had ever had back in the U.K.

_I wonder what they are doing now, huh? Hopefully having fun._

But now was hardly the time for thoughts like that, so with a sigh he pulled his focus back to the battle at hand. Dancing around a devastating upper-cut, he focused on the sweating boxer in front of him.

The passionate boy was panting slightly, clad only in his boxing gear, but was otherwise showing no other signs of relenting, whilst he himself was feeling the exertion of the fight.

_I need to do something soon, before Ryohei breaks me in two with his fists alone._

Alex could see no other option. If Ryohei wasn't going to give him an opening, then Alex would have to make one himself, before he succumbed to fatigue. With a side-step, he evaded a potentially devastating straight (if it had hit, he would have been down), and gripped onto it tightly. Grunting from the exertion, he used the limb as leverage to close the distance between the two of them.

They were so close, that their faces were almost touching. If it was any other situation, Alex would be a blushing mess, but he viciously stomped down the rising flush in favour of getting a hit in on the powerful warrior.

_I'm sorry, Ryohei._

Delivering an uppercut to the boy, he could only blink in shock as the fighter barely even flinched in response to the blow. Alex stumbled backwards, the recoil dislodging him, as his hand _ached_.

_Shouldn't have done that…_

He_ knew_ that he didn't have any upper-body strength, so whilst in theory the blow would have been enough to take someone down, he didn't have the strength to back up the blow.

In the end leaving him in a _worse_ situation than before.

_Screw Ryohei, I'm sorry me._

With that, the fight couldn't continue, as his dominant hand was put out of commission - leaving Alex without any method of attacking the boxer.

Well that wasn't completely true. If it was an all-out fight, he would be able to use his legs. But Ryohei was adamant about it being 'fists-only', like in the Boxing tournaments. Even though boxing allowed the use of legs, Alex couldn't convince the boxer otherwise, and you can't win with Ryohei when it came to boxing. Alex's lose was inevitable, much as it pained him to admit, and with a sigh made of both pain and annoyance he fell to his knees, cradling his injured hand.

"Are you alright?" A dull glance was tossed the boxer's way, and Alex didn't even need to say anything to get the message across.

With a furrowed brow, the energetic boxer rushed towards the first aid kit that was left on the side, which was left there just in case of emergencies, like this one. Ryohei settled in front of the kneeling Alex, the boxer-turned-medic wrapped bandages around the Brit's hand, before making a sling that he threaded the smaller classmate's through.

"I'm extremely sorry about this," laughing loudly, Ryohei had quickly turned back to his oblivious self again, "I'm just too extreme."

"Yea, you're certainly something…" Alex just stared at the laughing teen, biting his lip, less than impressed with his friend's attitude.

"I am, aren't I?" It was like Ryohei had completely ignored the insult, taking it the other way entirely.

"You really know how to make a guy feel good, huh?" Alex fell on his back, staring up at the ceiling in pensive consternation.

_Nothing is good enough, is it?_

Alex smiled a small, miniscule smile, counting the cracks in the ceiling to avoid the thoughts in his head.

_One, _will he ever be strong enough.

_Two, _why does he need to be strong in the first place?

_Three, _is there any point in even trying to get stronger. It isn't like it mattered; he couldn't even do any damage to Ryohei, even when he put his all into an attack.

Alex just felt like it was pointless, and as _un-manly _as it was, he could feel tears building up in his eyes.

"Alex, you 'lright?"

The dam didn't just break, it shattered.

Unable to hold it in any more, the wounded boy launched himself at Ryohei, who was quickly becoming flustered around the crying boy.

Awkwardly patting his back, Ryohei tried to shush him, only to fail as the boy's whimpers evolved, transforming into sobs.

Bewildered at the sudden turn of events, all Ryohei could do was act as some twisted anchor as Alex lost himself to his own fears and tears, all whilst wishing his little sister, Kyoko, was here to help him out. He honestly didn't know what to do, as it was one thing to calm down crying maidens, but it was one thing entirely to calm down a crying, hormonal boy.

Rocking the boy like a baby, Ryohei decided to treat this like any other sort of challenge – face it head on, until it fixes itself in the end.

Whilst being rocked to and fro in the boxer's arms, insecurities smashed at his self-esteem, chipping off shard after shard, sliver after meaningful sliver. If possible, he tried to hug Ryohei even tighter then he was already. Trying to smother down the blazing inferno, Ryohei started to shush him like a child.

They lay like that for who knows how long, him crying whilst Ryohei tried his best to comfort him – even if he did not know why exactly he was crying in the first place. Eventually, he calmed down enough to think rationally, and it was with no small amount of mortification that he found himself in this situation.

He, Alex Ivy, was being cradled like a child by a half-naked Ryohei.

_This never happened._

"I'm….okay. Well I think I am anyway. I'm sorry…that, y'know, I burst into tears. I honestly don't know what came over me." Alex said, not even bothering to let go of him.

Ryohei just let him, even if he personally believed that crying solves nothing. After all, they had a while to go until school starts for real, so they could use the time to rest. Alex rested in silence, allowing the exuberant boxer to take control of the conversation now that he knew he was okay.

Whilst he was doing so, he came to a sudden realization.

He himself didn't _actually_ know why he wanted to fight.

Alex didn't really have anything to fight for, not in the way Ryohei did.

Ryohei had a dream that he needed to fight for, and whilst he wanted to stay by his side, he didn't need to be able to be strong. Did he? His resolve to fight crumbled, as he realised that he really had no place in a fight. He was just too weak, too frail, to make any sort of difference in the grand scheme of things.

Hiding his confusion with a grin, he released Ryohei from his death grip, stumbling to his feet unsteadily.

"Come on, we should get going now. Who knows how long it will take to get ready for lessons, as you know we absolutely stink," Alex paused, as if something had just occurred to him, "Where exactly are the showers in this place anyway? Please say you have some, as I'm _so_ not sticking around when this place starts stinking like a frat-house."

_Nobody want's that._

Ryohei stood up, and gestured to the side of the room carelessly. There, hidden in plain sight, was presumably what Alex was asking for. For some bizarre reason, Alex had never actually seen the room before, always taking showers back at the house, or if he really wanted to treat himself he would have a long bath to soothe the aches and pains in his joints.

"Hurry up," impatient, Ryohei absolutely crushed Alex's hands in his bear paws, dragging him off towards the door, "let's shower already."

_What._

"What." Alex twitched, mind short circuiting.

_ has stopped working. Troubleshoot?_

"Isn't that what guys do, shower together?" Ryohei acted as if this was common knowledge, and tossed the redhead that was currently having a meltdown a strange look.

"I…don't believe so, do they?" He was panicking mentally, trying to recall if bathing together was a societal norm in Japan.

He was hoping that no, it wasn't, and that Ryohei was just being his bizarre self again.

His hopes and dreams were crushed mercilessly by a _nod_ of all things.

"If I must…" the Brit trailed off, digging his feet into the hard ground. Not that it helped too much, all things considered, and he very quickly found himself dragged, kicking and screaming, through the door.

"No Ryohei, I refuse…" Alex was doing his best owl impression, slowly blinking as he took in the room. The room that, despite what he feared, was made up of separate cubicles – and not with everyone else.

"Oh." Alex muttered under his breath, relaxing slightly.

"You get changed first, I promise I won't look," Ryohei nodded, cheesy grin on his face, "after all, it's not extreme to look."

"You look Ryohei, and I'll tear your soul from your body and feed it to that creep of a disciplinary leader. He certainly bloody needs one."

Suffice to say Ryohei didn't look, and with a surprisingly comfortable air that was in no way at all awkward – no, really, _honest _– they got themselves ready.

* * *

_You know, I still can't shake the feeling that Namimori has essentially become Britain 2.0._

Verdigris stared out of the window, smirking at the irony of it all. The day was bleak and dreary, heavy storm clouds building and breaking and _building_ and _breaking _in the sky. It didn't take a genius to know that soon it would rain, and that this particular storm would be heavy. It left him uneasy, as if something unnatural was occurring.

Japan wasn't exactly known for its rain storms, and if Alex didn't know better he would have said that he brought the clouds with him.

"Alex-san? I don't suppose you could explain what _this is,_ could you?" Mrs Heartoak's accented voice dripped with sarcasm, something that he couldn't help but admire in her.

Mrs Heartoak herself was an American-born woman, who had faced many challenges in her life and came out stronger because of them. Racism, prejudice, sexism – she had withstood it all, and came out a better person because of it.

She was a woman you could respect, formidable yet kind in a 'painful love' sort of way, and was realistic in the way that not many people were.

All these qualities were what made her so respected in Alex's eyes and as a result his favourite teacher. It also helped that she was the teacher of his favourite subject, even if it was the easiest for him by far.

…_I feel like I've read one too many introspective fanfictions._

"If you have time to look out of the window, then you can tell the rest of the class just what 'Pathetic Fallacy' is," She asked, her voice hard and unforgiving, asking the question as more of a trap than anything else, "come up here and teach it to us."

_Well, shit._

Well, if she wanted to play like that then fair enough. He'd just have to knock her expectations out of the park.

So far in his stay here, they've had very little contact with the other. When he turned up, this class was going over notes for an assessment which, due to him just arriving, he himself did not have to take part in. She was just too busy with her original students that the newcomer was shafted in favour of them.

Determined, Alex took a moment to collect his thoughts. To think back about what he knew about the subject, and to think on the spot what to say. One deep breath later and he was prepared to go, the class having fallen into silence.

With all eyes on him he began his lecture, voice measured and reserved yet so very _loud._

"Pathetic Fallacy, is a literary technique utilised by authors young and old, and involves the use of medium as a metaphor for emotions. Mainly found in poetic writing, prime examples of pathetic fallacy involve using the weather, such as the rain to foreshadow sadness, or the sun to highlight something or someone extremely important," taking a deep breath, Alex ignored the eyes on him and continued.

"So if we look outside, we see that it is very cloudy. That in and of itself, if used in a piece of literature, could foreshadow something terrible happening in the near future, or for danger to be on the horizon." Alex would have continued, finally in his element, but was stopped.

"You can sit back down now, Ivy-chan, and can I just say that what you just did was simply remarkable," she praised, an assessing glint in her eyes.

_Completely nailed it._

Blushing profusely at the praise, he nodded his head in thanks, not trusting himself to actually speak in case he stuttered out a mess. Normally, he wasn't that vocal, preferring instead to just stay quiet in the back of the class, but Ryohei must be getting to him.

_What is he doing anyway?_

Alex turned to his right, where Ryohei usually slept in this class.

He seemed to have been asleep throughout the entire thing, using Alex's red bag as a pillow. Shaking his head, he didn't know whether or not to be shocked at the fact that he managed to not be caught by Mrs Heartoak for sleeping in her class or more annoyed by the fact that he slept through his entire lecture.

"Gerrup Ryohei," Alex muttered, trying to wake the sleeping boxer up. The lesson was nearly ending, and they needed to be ready for maths.

Well, he says ready. Alex really meant Ryohei needed to be up to give the teacher some made up excuse to explain his absence.

"Ryohei, you need to get up now and cover for me, I'm going to go hide in the Boxing Club's room." He pleaded to the sleepy boxer.

The boxer was confused, before realising where he was and why he was oh so rudely awakened.

Turning apologetic eyes towards Alex's begging orbs, Ryohei's mind flailed for an answer, before settling on a barely-audible apology. Confused, he stared at the dejected boy, before his mind put the pieces together.

"Sorry Alex, but…we need a partner in sport today." Ryohei half-whispered, half-shouted, looking at the stunned westerner in hope.

"Could you be my EXTREME partner? I would rather have you be my partner than anyone else?" Ryohei asked, hope shining in his eyes.

Alex sat there, pondering on how to answer that. He could say yes, and make Ryohei happy, or say no, and make him dejected.

So, even if he didn't want to, he said yes, not looking forward to the lesson.

Physical education was certainly not his forte, but if Ryohei asked, he might as well go with it. It couldn't be too bad, could it?

With that done, the bell rung, ushering the students to make their way towards the main door. The typical stampede of students burst out the doors, leaving behind only a few stragglers - Ryohei and Alex included.

Picking up their stuff, they made their way towards the exit, only to be stopped by Mrs Heartoak, who waited near the door for the duo.

Or more specifically, Alex.

"Pardon me, but if I could take a moment of your time, I have a small favour to ask." She asked, hands reaching out to grab a slip of paper from her desk.

"I don't suppose you know what this is, do you?" Showing the slip of paper to them, she just sighed, muttered something about it being 'typical', and began to explain just what was on the sheet.

Picking it up, she asked if they knew what was on it. Seeing them both shake their heads in negative, she sighed, before beginning to explain what was exactly on the unknown sheet. However, before she could really begin explaining what was on it, she was cut off by Alex.

"This letter, which you should have been told about, was gifted by me from the Headmaster. These letters are given to people who I deem proficient enough in the subject I teach to go on and to help out the younger years, helping them out and tutoring them in the aspects that they themselves do not understand," she started, watching as Alex stared at her in rapt fascination whilst Ryohei was staring at Alex, who made a fascinating figure. Alex's eyes were making diamonds jealous, sparkling at the prospect of being given such an offer.

"You already know where this is going, don't you," in response, Alex nodded, silent and waiting for her to continue, "I want you, Alex Ivy, to become a tutor for the younger years."

She handed over the unblemished letter to the ecstatic boy, who filled in the gaps with glee. The emerald eyed teen finished it off in record time, passing it back.

Mrs Heartoak scanned the letter, before raising an eyebrow at one of the last question's answers. After spotting where she was looking, Alex felt an encroaching sense of disbelief, which turned into mortification.

_Please, don't say she-_

"I…didn't realise you were male. I must apologise for that" she apologised, shocked at the revelation.

_She did, she so did._

Ryohei guffawed, a response all-too-common when Alex had his gender mistook, and the normally stern teacher soon joined him.

"That… will never get old. I swear…it's too…EXTREME!" Ryohei spat out, managing to get it out before continuing to laugh himself into oblivion.

"Why on Earth do I put up with this?"Alex spat out, before leaving the pair of them behind.

They so totally deserved each-other.

He got half-way to the door before realising that he needed the note to not get in trouble.

_You win this time, Ryohei Sasagawa. But prepare for the next round. I won't lose next time, not when my pride is on the line!_

* * *

"We seriously need to hurry," Alex gasped, forcing the air out of his lungs.

The deadly duo dashed down the hallways, through countless doors and even the courtyard to get to the sports hall.

Panting heavily, Alex stared enviously at Ryohei, due to the fact that he wasn't anywhere near as shattered from the mad dash as Alex was. All he did was laugh and shout something about being 'EXTREME!', and then going on about exercise, drugs and world peace.

…He could have been, for all Alex knew.

Choosing to ignore the athlete in order to save his sanity, he recovered enough to enter the building, being swiftly followed by his current anchor.

What was waiting for them was not anything Alex could have predicted.

At least fifty students were up and about, mulling around the centre of the room. The teacher was near the front, taking role call now, shouting out the name of students left right and centre. Bustling through the crowd, Alex used Ryohei as a weapon, cutting the swathe of students in half - also using him as an effective human shield, protecting him from any stray limbs up ahead.

Silently congratulating himself for his ingenious plan, he stuck closer to Ryohei than usual, up until they reached the teachers. Heading towards their P.E teachers, Alex fumbled around in his bag, before pulling out the note that would tell them why they were late.

With that in their possession, they would be safe.

Well, Ryohei would be at least, if the fact that the P.E teacher held a glare capable of melting diamond aimed directly at Alex, as if he was trying to burn a hole through his skull.

With a dismissive shake of his head, he jotted their names down on the register before shredding the poor, defensive note between his hands.

Alex was just glad that it was not him that was being turned into mush by the teacher's grizzled and calloused hand.

He was afraid to ask the volatile teacher just what was going on in the room, so he left it unsaid. Scanning the crowd for familiar faces, he spotted Kyoko nearby. Informing Ryohei, they made their way over to her, eager to see what was going on.

"Kyoko, Kyoko, your extreme onii-san is here to talk to you!" The excitable boy all but whispered to the smiling girl, whose smile only grew wider when she saw that they were together.

Whilst the two talked to each other and caught up, Alex was on his knees, rummaging through his bags. Pulling out a very familiar scarlet blanket, the very same blanket he took from the school's storage cupboards he laid it out on the ground, before sitting down on it in the front row.

He was soon followed by the brother and sister combo, who was still having their conversation. Yawning, he closed his eyes to have a nap.

He probably didn't want to see this anyway.

Sadly, before he could succumb to Morpheus' embrace, he was jolted awake by an irritating flick combo from his two passengers. Glaring them down for daring to interrupt his sleep, he closed his eyes, letting them off the hook.

But once again, before he could sleep he was interrupted by the free-loaders.

"Oi, if you're not going to let me sleep, then get off my blanket. I swear the nerve of some people…" Alex growled out, voice coarse from interrupted slumber.

They just shared the same mischievous glint in their eyes, the only difference being that Kyoko's held a poisonous innocence to it that all but pointed out that she was enjoying it far more than she should be.

The glare faltered long before the family team did, much to their delight and Alex's sorrow.

Sighing, he gave up; it was obvious they were not going to let him sleep.

"Remind me why I'm friends with you two again?" Alex questioned, shaking his head in exasperation.

"It's because you love us." Kyoko sang out, victorious grin juxtaposing her innocent aura, Ryohei's face soon mimicking his younger sister, making him look somewhat…_handsome?_

Alex set fire to the thought before it continued on – he did not need to be thinking that way about the silver-haired boxer. It was almost as if he could hear his thoughts, as that grin only got wider.

"It's because we are extremely best friends!" Ryohei stage-whispered, completely unaware that everyone could hear them if they wanted to eavesdrop, whilst slinging an arm around his shoulder.

Huffing, Alex was forced to accept it - it wasn't as if he was being given a choice in the matter, letting Kyoko just watch in building glee at the bro-mance. Without skipping a beat, Ryohei continued on with his train of thought, not even noticing the oncoming train-wreck.

"Alex-kun, Tsu-kun will be playing in the volleyball tournament, are you going to support him?" Kyoko asked, effectively crashing through Ryohei's barrage of words, with an almost vindictive happiness. Alex's eyebrow perked at that – his honorary little brother was in a volley ball match?

_Ryohei may have lied completely to get me here, but this I have to see._

"Kyoko, obviously I will be supporting Tsuna. I didn't know he played the game though," Alex started, confused, as surely Tsuna would have told him if he was interested in the sport, "Ryohei, at least you'll get to see your man-crush again."

"Tsuna is Extreme." Was Ryohei's sage advice.

"Indeed he is," said Alex dryly, before his attention was caught by something lying on the ground near Kyoko's feet. "What's that?"

"Oh this? This is just something we all made in our art class, to show our support," Kyoko smiled, but it wasn't entirely happy, "normally, I have someone to help me, but she is on holiday abroad with her family."

"Haruka-san?" Ryohei seemed to know her, which shouldn't be surprising.

"No, onii-san, Hana-chan." Kyoko corrected automatically, as if she has done it many times before.

Before they could start a one-sided argument, the hall quieted down, the two teams that everyone was waiting for entering the pitch.

Jumping like cheerleaders on crack, Kyoko and Alex waved their orange banner whilst Ryohei shouted random encouragements nearby.

_Go Tsuna! Team 1-A for life let's get it trending._

Unfortunately, Team 1-A was losing, and _badly_. Tsuna was not in Dying Will mode, so he was practically useless, and despite having a 'so-called' (according to Kyoko) sports prodigy on their team, they couldn't pick up Tsuna's slack.

Despite this however, Team Sasagawa refused to become subdued like the rest of Class 1-A's, and if anything they became even more fervent in their cheering, even if all they got was strange looks in response. The redhead watched as his own team cornered Tsuna, telling him to 'stop not taking it seriously', during the break. Whilst the team was betting back into position, he called out to Tsuna.

Ignoring the teen's curious gaze, he hastily edited the banner, so that now it said 'Go Tsuna' on it, with a cute little emoticon on the side.

It seemed to be just what he needed, and Tsuna walked back into the game with a new found sense of determination.

It you asked Alex what he thought of him then, you would get 'absolutely badass' as a response.

Watching in anticipation, Team Sasagawa awaited the obvious comeback or the return of 'Dying Will' Tsuna. Only to watch as Tsuna seemed to slip _backwards_ whilst walking _forward, _an impressive yet embarrassing feat.

_Oh Tsuna…_

Takeshi , the supposed sports-prodigy, turned towards Tsuna and urged him to block the ball.

And jump Tsuna did.

_It was almost as if his legs are in Dying Will mode._

Then it clicked. That 'trip' before wasn't so much of a 'trip' as it was a 'push', with the antagonist being Reborn's 'Dying Will Bullet'. Tsuna seemed to soar into the air, rising well above the net, and in the oncoming path of the ball. It collided, bouncing off onto the floor as everyone went further into shock at how he had blocked it.

_That poor, poor boy…_

"He… He blocked it with a man's most important organ… EXTREME GUY!" It was almost shocking enough to lower Ryohei's voice to almost inaudible levels.

Sensing the boxing club spiel coming a mile away, he tuned Ryohei out in favour of watching the monumental comeback going on right in front of him. The cheers came back, stronger than before, as the team buckled down and destroyed the opposition.

Well, with Tsuna managing to get multiple balls to the crotch. Well, it seemed to work, so whatever floats his boat.

Soon enough, the game was over, with Tsuna's team the victors.

With the match over, Ryohei faded off to the Boxing Club to start training, whilst Alex left him with the promise that he'll be there later.

Walking up to Tsuna, he attempted to start a conversation with the shy boy, only to be cut off by a rude, silver haired boy.

Alex was stunned at the audacity of the boy, and watched in stunned silence as he led Tsuna off, away from the din of the crowd. Following the pair, he chased them until they stopped in an alleyway. Hiding behind some bins, he poked his head over to watch the fight.

Tsuna seemed to be in his dying will form extinguishing dynamite left and right. After extinguishing all the explosives and making the rude brat from before his friend and subordinate, Reborn dropped down from his perch and announced that Tsuna did well, getting his first family member.

Seeing that he had no further place here, he sighed, moving back the way he came.

Tsuna, it seemed, didn't need Alex to protect him anymore. Gokudera (as he called himself) was doing a good enough job as it is, chasing away a few neanderthals that had shown up to pick on Tsuna.

Now, if only he could figure out why that hurt so much?

* * *

**_Chapter 5, Fin._**

**_Bleh. This chapter just seems off to me. Like really super off. I just don't know why, and I can't just hold back this chapter for another day, so here it is._**

**_I may make a few edits here and there, however, but I'll briefly summarize what was added and, if anything was taken out, what was removed._**

**_This chapter, in a nutshell, relationship building, set up for plot and Gokudera Introduction. Next time, methinks, it will be Yamamoto time. That and/or the flame reveal._**

_**Oh yeah, now that reminds me! If you can try and guess what flames he has. If you guess right then I'll type up a one-shot about anything KHR related, so that is a thing xD.**_

**_Anyway, thank you for the continued support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter_**

**_Signed, HalcyonNight_**


	6. Sei: Deus ex Reborn

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, just Alex and some of the things that'll crop up in the future.**

**This chapter is a bit meh in my opinion, but I'll release it xD. It's essentially Character interaction, a bit of plot, Tsuna saving Yamamoto (that all happened offscreen because food/not everyone saw it happen) and build up for next chapter.**

**I don't like this chapter though. Feels a bit too much like filler. But I'll make up for it next time with plot, flame reveal, ninjas and Mukuro. Alla 'dat will be in the next chapter xD**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy, and I'm glad that people are enjoying the fic~**

* * *

_**-(Scene Break)-**_

* * *

_**In the grand scheme of things, did anyone ever really matter? **_

_**Are they ever important, cherished or most importantly needed. Convenience is all that was ever birthed from these so-called important discoveries, and the world today wouldn't be able to last without them. So, in the end, what defines true importance – a selfless sacrifice? A hero or a villain? Life isn't some tragic performance, no matter how many people hope it to be so and there won't be some crazy, nonsensical ending that is your reward for standing through it. Life is hard, painful, and lonely – it would be wrong to call it a performance. All that you can try to do is to be important.**_

_**But…how do you become 'important'?**_

_**Is it through hard work and determination, by chance or by luck or by just being somewhere at the right time?**_

_**Just what is importance?**_

_**-(Scene Break)-**_

_Mrs Heartoak is one crazy woman._

His movements punctuated by a sigh, the crimson haired teen lay down his pen, lightly picking up his word with a surprising degree of care. The lamp nearby shone, a neat cone of intense light burning holes into the desk, his only source of light at this time of night.

Alex couldn't believe that he was up at this time.

_Why on Earth did I think this was a good idea? I'm going to be absolutely wrecked in the morning._

He had stayed up late, putting some finishing touches to his work. Mrs Heartoak had set up some homework for them to complete for their next lesson.

Unlike all the other pieces of work that he had handed in so far, this one had to be special. This one had to be absolutely _immaculate_, to knock the ball right out of the park and leave the teacher in awe. Alex had to not just convince her that he means business, but to show her that he was perfect for the spot.

The project itself was, as you could tell from the subject matter, was about existentialism, and he had decided to focus on the idea of importance.

_What a time to be having an existential crisis?_

His diary-journal-_thing_ was nearby, propped up along the spine of the lamp, the crimson hardback reflecting errant rays of light like a makeshift mirror. It had yet to reach the point of disrepair, but that did not mean that it hadn't been used, or that it was as good as the day that he had removed it from the cellophane.

_It must be good to have a purpose._

Objects had it easy. They were made, crafted, for a purpose – each and every one on the Earth for a reason. Tools to be used, to be manufactured and coveted; they had it easy.

"What sad individual I am," rueful, Alex's smirk held a sliver of self-deprecating humour.

He, Alex Ivy, was having an introspective moment at _two in the morning._

_What would Claire think?_

His sister, Claire, was an incredibly strong woman – she had made a name for herself. Successful, rich, and with a family of her own, she was the oldest of the quartet and as a result the most responsible of the lot, even if her personality suggested otherwise. She was his role model, and out of all of his siblings it would be she that he would most want to be alike – someone who was happy and fun-loving, but when times are tough able to become serious and fight her way out.

Claire was the only girl out of the four, the rest of his siblings being his older brothers.

His brothers were polar opposites of each other: one was an avid follower of the MMA scene, taking part in fights whenever he could – he was the reason why he could even keep up with Ryohei in the first place – and the other was a doctor.

To be honest, on some primal level, they utterly terrified him.

Alex was an anomaly. He was inadequate, an anomaly.

They were as different as night and day, him and his brothers. Where they were successful, he clearly wasn't, where they were masculine he was feminine, where they were useful he was useless.

People have said that he should have been born a girl, and maybe they were right.

"Genetics, eh, who needs them?" Alex mirthlessly chuckled, standing from the table.

He had better things to do with himself than to feel sorry for himself. There really wasn't any point in acting all pitiful now, and he has lived for fourteen years living as he had done. It's not as if his appearance changed anything.

Just in time too, for the screen on his phone lit up, the picture of his family lighting up the darkness of his bedroom. A small picture of an alarm blared out, the beginning of Ke$ha's 'Tik Tok' playing before being silenced by Alex smashing the snooze button.

A quick look told him that it had just broken three.

_No point going to bed now._

Alex stood from his seat, the wood creaking as he got up, and with a loud yawn he stretched himself out. For some bizarre reason, Ryohei wanted him to crawl his way round to his after school – and considering this was one of the first times that he was cordially asked he just had to find out why.

It must be serious, if he was asking him instead of dragging him over kicking and screaming like he generally tends to do.

Creeping down the stairs as sneakily as possible (which, if Alex had to guess, was very, very sneaky – he was a ninja _master_ after all) he made his way to the shower, stealing a towel off of a nearby rack outside of the bathroom.

The transfer student stepped into the bathroom, adjusting the settings on the shower as he stripped off, stepping into the cubicle when he checked to make sure they were as he usually had it.

Leaning over, he lifted the stainless-steel lever, getting ready for the oncoming stream of water.

And rain down it.

A scalding jet of water burst down from above, dousing his body, burning it intensely before he managed to scramble out of the shower, dripping wet from the burning deluge.

His scream of pain was so loud that it had the potential to awaken all of Namimori, so it was no surprise that he heard heavy footfalls clambering down the stairs.

_Somehow this was all Reborn's fault._

For all he knew, it wasn't Reborn's fault, but ever since the demon baby had turned up everything had gone to Hell in a hand basket. If something could go wrong, it _would _go wrong, and chances are it was all in a bid to _train _Tsuna to take over the role of the Vongola.

Why a mafia family would call themselves 'Clam' would forever remain a mystery.

He could hear the footfalls reach the bathroom door. Frantic, Alex yanked the closest towel that he could get his hands on around his waist, in an attempt to at least be left with some modicum of dignity after what will most likely be am extremely embarrassing chain of events.

The door-knob twisted before crashing forward, pushed open by the sheer force thrown by whoever opened it. Tsuna and Reborn stood in the doorway, with Tsuna panting at the mad dash and Reborn lying leisurely on top of Tsuna's brunet mop of hair, poised with a gun in hand as if expecting assassins

Only seeing Alex stood in the middle of the bathroom, dripping wet and clad only in a skimpy towel, Reborn just stared before turning to Tsuna.

Tsuna was arguably less composed than Reborn was, and was trying to divert his eyes away from the Brit's skin.

An awkward silence pervaded the room, with only the staccato pitter-patter of the shower in the background for noise.

Reborn's predatory expression sent alarm bells through Tsuna's mind, his hyper intuition telling him to get out as soon as possible, whilst simultaneously raising Alex's hackles.

With cat-like grace, Reborn waltzed over to the sopping wet boy, stopping only to stare at his angry face before jumping up.

Grabbing onto the towel that was protecting the redhead's modesty.

Moments before the fall, Alex was left with the knowledge that there was very little that he could do to stop the brat.

"Well, you certainly aren't a girl," Reborn said, eying the now mortified boy who was on his knees, trying to protect his modesty whilst his face went supernova.

Alex may not have been able to see it, but Reborn was surprised.

The pint-sized hitman had honestly thought that he was just a flat-chested girl.

The baby's beetle-black eyes shared nothing, and without even an apology he made his way out of the door, dragging a comatose Tsuna behind him.

Alex prayed to all that was holy that Tsuna hadn't seen anything, and only until he was sure that they had left did he struggle to his feet.

_I swear, if Tsuna even hints at what has just happened I'll stab Reborn with his own damn chameleon._

* * *

**-(Scene Break)-**

* * *

_Today needs to go die in a fire. A large one. A fire so large it makes the damn sun jealous._

Quite frankly, Alex was annoyed. Very, _very_ annoyed. So annoyed that not even Naruto can believe it.

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong today, went wrong, and somehow it all was down to Reborn's presence. He was up for a nice, relaxing day at school - a day where he just hands in his work, learns some new things from his teachers - hey, maybe even go to the Boxing Club afterwards if he was being particularly charitable. The red-head would have been overjoyed if that had happened.

But, guess what, it hadn't. In fact, it had gone _nuclear._

The only thing that had gone well today was the work. She had a quick glance over it, done the eyebrow thing teacher's do when they're impressed by something, before putting it at the top of the pile - as if to mark it first. So that's at least _one _good thing.

The rest went not so well. Tsuna couldn't look him in the eye without blushing, though at the very least he had assumed it was a _nightmare _(to be honest, Alex didn't know whether to thank the heavens or to be insulted) and hadn't thought it actually had happened, but Reborn just stared him down with his soulless gaze and that damnable smirk slapped all over his Cabbage Patch face.

Because that's what Reborn is - a sentient Cabbage Patch doll. Or a possessed Cabbage Patch doll, either one of them works.

Somehow, due to Reborn's impressive command over the teaching council - something Alex had yet to figure out _how it was possible - _he had managed to orchestrate a plot that had, somehow, lead to only him being exempt from lessons, and he doesn't even know what it was. All Alex knew was that he had done _something _that had led to Alex's name being dropped.

_Anyway, back to the matter at hand._

Assumedly, he was being punished (or he was being bizarrely treated to a get out of lesson free card) for something completely and utterly mysterious, and this punishment was to cook.

So cook he shall.

"The question is, what will I be cooking?" Alex muttered to himself, casting an emerald gaze around the room.

The room that he had been given (or, rather, _forced _into, but who cares about semantics) was actually quite large for what it was. Rows upon rows upon rows of ovens littered the room, and sinks hugged the vanilla wallpaper - he was in a cooking classroom. Alex walked away from the small desk he was set at, feet treading along the grey, dull floor as he made his way through the labyrinth of cookery equipment.

A small fridge unit was propped up against the wall, plugged into the wall by a short cord.

"Now, what's in hear?" The student gripped the handle tightly, before yanking it opening with a small grunt.

_Well that isn't helpful._

All that sat in their was a bunch of boring old ingredients, ingredients that he couldn't really use for much more than a stir fry. With a sigh of disappointment, he was just going to accept the fact that he would have to cook a stir fry, until he noticed a small, silver tube of tomato puree.

"Well isn't this convenient," he smirked. "I could do with a pizza at the moment."

He felt a bit like a vegetable thieving hobgoblin by the time he raided the fridge of it's goods, and with a quick rifle through the cupboards nearby he managed to scrounge up everything that he would need to create a home-made pizza, _Alex _style.

If there was one thing Alex prided himself on, it was being able to cook. He might not be the greatest athlete in the world, or the best mathematician, but he could damn well cook. Something that even he was surprised at being able to do, considering that his mother couldn't even make toast without making it charcoal.

_Time to make the best damn pizza in the world!_

Slipping into an old apron, he washed his hands, as you're supposed to do before handling food. He grabbed a few bowls, and using a cup he scooped up a few cups of bread-flour, pouring three of them into the mixing bowl. With another bowl filled with hot water, Alex chucked some yeast in, setting the timer on his phone for five minutes.

It may have been against the rules to have a phone on school property, but he frankly didn't care for anything that hypocrite Hibari had to say.

"Alex, what'ya doing?"

_Where for the love of everything holy did he come from?_

"For crying out loud Ryohei, at least warn me that your gonna pop up out of nowhere." Immediately dismissing him, he returned to what he was doing.

"I extremely appeared a while ago, but you were laughing to yourself like 'O-ho-ho'," he even did the little laugh.

_I don't laugh like that do I?_

"Shut up and tell me why you're here." Alex ignored the freaky laughter in favour of asking him the serious questions.

"Aren't you cooking for me?" Ryohei actually looked aghast, as if it was something that Alex should have known all along and it was some deep crime that he had no clue about it.

"Cute." Alex prayed the sarcasm wasn't lost on Ryohei. "Now, who told you that so I can slap them across the face with a table."

"You mean you aren't cooking for me...?" Ryohei trailed off, clueless, looking like a wounded puppy.

"...Yes, Ryohei, I'm cooking for you." Alex cringed, knowing that this would eventually bite him in the ass.

"Extreme," Ryohei started, only to be cut off by a diabolical apron thrown by Alex crashing into his noggin.

The cook pointedly ignored the sterling boxer's fight against the apron, distracted by his phone's alarm going off. Heavy-handed, he turned the timer off, whilst somehow simultaneously chucking the contents of both bowls into a separate one, along with salt, sugar and a dash of olive oil.

The squabble behind him was getting even louder, Ryohei arguing with a non-existent entity whilst Alex worked on mixing the starchy mess into something that at least resembled a sphere.

"VICTORY TO THE EXTREMEEE," the victorious boy cried, finally managing to slip on the apron.

"That's nice Ryohei, now get over here." Alex ordered, voice tinged with both amusement and exasperation.

"How do I do..." Ryohei was, for the second time today, interrupted by his ginger friend, who clamped onto his hands with a vice-like grip.

"That's how you knead it," hands clasped over the other's, Alex guided his hands through the motions until Ryohei could do it himself.

Ryohei was off in his own little world after that, a running commentary on the kneading interspersed with cries of 'EXTREME KNEADING', whilst Alex went off on an adventure to find some more flour to add to the mixture.

"Umm, Ryohei?" Alex asked when he returned, adding the extra flour necessary to the bowl.

"Hmm?" Ryohei was to busy focusing on the flour to respond.

"Aren't you supposed to be in lesson now?" Unlike Alex, Ryohei wasn't exactly exempt from staying out of lesson as a result of some crazy event.

It seemed like the same thought had occurred to Ryohei, as he was distracted from the dough ball.

"This small teacher came up to me in the hallway, and started talking about food and stuff," Ryohei scratched his chin, leaving a bit of flour stuck there, "Rebo-something, I forget."

Alex was stopped from asking by a knock on the door, and a fluffy head in the doorway.

"Tsuna, what's wrong?" Tsuna looked lost and confused, making Alex worried. "Ryohei, just continue kneading, I'll be back in a minute."

Determined, Ryohei let out a grunt of understanding before zealously returning to the task. Alex left Ryohei in charge, even if it could end in disaster, so that the two could have some semblance of privacy. They were on the first floor of the building, near to both the receptionist's office (the woman still got on Alex's nerves) and the emergency staircase that lead directly up to the roof.

"I came to find you cause I was worried," this was the first time that Alex had seen Tsuna so lost before, and it made his heart ache.

"Worried about?" Alex prodded, urging him on.

"Something happened yesterday," Tsuna started, grounding himself to keep his emotions in check, "yesterday, I was approached by Yamamoto-san."

"The sports one?"

"The sports one." Tsuna confirmed. "He came to me, asking for advice on what to do. I don't know why, but I feel like I've given him the worst advice I could have possibly done."

"I'm certain that it wasn't that bad." Alex tried to console him.

"No, I'm _certain _that it was bad advice." Tsuna barked out, angry at himself.

"Well, have you tried to find him then?" Seeing Tsuna's nod, Alex just gestured for him to continue.

"That's why I'm not in lesson. He wasn't in lesson, and he wasn't in the infirmary either." He seemed certain that he was in the school, and not at home recovering from an illness or an injury.

"Are you sure he's not at home?"

"Absolutely certain."

The resolution in his eyes was almost frightening.

Alex mulled it over in his head, the two of them trying to figure out where Yamamoto could be. The only place that he could be was on the roof, but Alex hadn't even seen hide-nor-hair of the sport's prodigy.

"The only place he could be is the roof then, but..." Whatever Alex was about to say was forgotten, as after he said the word 'roof' Tsuna brightened up, as if hit with a bolt of inspiration, and he went charging for the staircase nearby, not even throwing a thank you his way.

Alex blinked once, twice, before turning back round and returning to his cooking.

Something told him that where Tsuna was going he couldn't follow, or else something terrible would happen, so Alex just wished Tsuna all the best.

"Am I done yet?" Ryohei whined, his impatience getting the better of him when he saw Alex's return.

One look told him that the dough was _very _much done.

"Yeah, for now," Alex saved the dough ball from Ryohei's death grip with one hand whilst using his free hand to cover another bowl with olive oil. Dropping the ball in unceremoniously, he used his free hand to turn the oven up high. Covering the surface of the bowl with a plastic wrap, he hastily put the dough in the oven. "And that's that."

"When will it be done?" Ryohei's smoky eyes sparkled at the thought of food.

"We've got an hour until we have to check on the dough." Alex roughly estimated, as both cooks removed the aprons. "What d'you wanna do?"

Alex didn't even know why he bothered asking, as by the time he got the question out Ryohei had picked him up and hauled him out the room, his mind dead-set on the boxing room.

_He's not half predictable._

Alex was just glad he wasn't being dragged around, it was murder on his arms. Not that it wasn't much better being lugged around like a sack of potatoes.

The boxing room, despite popular belief, wasn't a disastrous mess like people thought it would be. It was actually clean and orderly. Feet now clearly on the ground, Alex stretched, removing a thin, silver necklace from around his neck. It was one of those ones that was just a plain chain, but he got it because he wanted to put something on it. Just what that would be is a mystery, as he didn't really know what that would be just yet.

And then he was dodging, rolling out the way of an 'extreme' haymaker.

All Alex had to do was survive for an hour against a pent-up Ryohei.

Well, it's certainly easier said than done.

* * *

**-(Scene Break)-**

* * *

_Next time we're watching TV, not endurance training. Fuck endurance training._

Alex crashed through the door, dragging himself other to the sink nearby, guzzling water from the tap like a man does to an oasis in a desert. Ryohei sauntered in behind him, sweaty but not in anywhere near the same condition.

The Brit could feel his muscles screaming out in agony, but he endured it for the sake of gorgeous food.

Panting even now, Alex weakly pulled the dough out of the oven, separating it into two even balls with some difficulty. Brandishing a rolling pin like a murder weapon; he went to town on the rebellious ball of dough, flattening it in record time. With the dough now flattened, he rolled it back up with his hands, before grabbing a knife and severing it in two. With two separate balls, he rolled them both out; uncapping the tomato puree after they were both flat and he had curled out the edges, doubling it in on itself.

He's had a lot of practice making pizza.

Spreading the tomato puree around the duo of pizzas, starting inwards and moving outwards, finishing it off with a second run of it. Taking the cheese(s), he spread out the many different types over the top of the pizza, deciding on making it a simple mozzarella and not something special – after all he didn't really have much to work with, as this was all coincidental, unless _butter _is now a suitable topping for pizza. With the easy part done, he stuck the two identical pizzas into the surprisingly spacious oven, and tried to tidy up the mess.

_Actually, no, Ryohei can do it. I feel like bloody melting into the floor._

_"_I'll extremely do it!" It was as if he could read Alex's mind, as he set about cleaning the room.

"Thanks." Alex groaned out, the pain in his muscles almost unbearable. How people do this sort of stuff often was a mystery to him, if they felt this pain every single time they tried.

"I remember something from my first teacher," Ryohei commented, his voice rough yet mellow. "If it hurts it's a good thing."

"Huh?" Alex laugh was a rough bark. "My first teacher told me to tell an adult if something hurt."

"He said that, if it hurts, it'll make you strong." The boxer was lost in memories, so Alex chose not to interrupt. "It was an old saying from an Italian boxer from years ago. He was the most extreme boxer out there, according to my awesome teacher, so much so that he was extremely named Knuckle."

"So he's extreme then?" the pizzas were nearly done, if his eyesight wasn't failing him, as Alex looked through the glass screen.

"Very."

_If it hurts, it'll make you strong, eh?_

"Ryohei?"

"Huh?"

"Just make sure you don't get hurt to much, alright? That'll be a pain." Alex was blushing as he said it, not even facing his partner, instead he checked on the pizzas.

They were covered in a lovely golden glaze, and that the cheese looked as if a professional had made it and then photo-shopped it to make it look even better, he patted himself on the back for a job well done.

Calling over Ryohei, they plated the better of the two, whilst Alex covered the other in tin foil for Tsuna and Nana to enjoy.

"Go on, you get first slice - I did cook for you after all." Separated into eight, Ryohei naturally took the largest slice, the cheesy goodness tearing away beautifully.

_Marks and Spencer's be jelly of my food porn. But still, I'm confused as to why I've spent the entire day cooking instead of learning - the only thing I have done is hand in work and get implicated in some grievous crime._

Ryohei took a bite.

And erupted into a massive grin, demolishing the rest of it in seconds. Reaching for a second slice and doing the same to it as he had done to its brethren.

Alex went for a slice of his own, still preoccupied with his own thoughts, he couldn't help but to comment on his eating habits.

"EXTREME…TASTES! You're going to be cooking this for me more. Well you are just going to be cooking more for me in general." Ryohei demanded shoveling more pizza in his mouth.

"Well, that's one thing sorted." The smile had yet to leave his face. "So what is it that you wanted me to come round for anyway?"

"I wanted you to come round?"

_He's completely forgotten about it._

"Never mind Ryohei, never mind."

* * *

**-(Scene Break)-**

* * *

_I can't believe that I missed Tsuna at the end of the day._

Knocking on the front door, Alex desperately quell the urge to brutally murder the yapping chihuahua next door, one hand holding the covered up pizza and the other tapping the door.

He didn't have to wait long, as Nana opened the door whilst trying to tie an apron that she had put on. If Alex had to guess what was going on, it would be that she had just put dinner on but was rushing about for something. Voicing his question out loud as they made their way back inside and into the kitchen, he took a seat, waiting for her to answer it. She seemed conflicted about whether or not she should say it to him, but relented when she saw that he wouldn't really judge her if it was something bad.

"I… don't have enough food to cook for everybody. I only have enough food stocked for tomorrow morning's breakfast, and Tsuna has his two handsome friends round." Nana said this, acting as if it was the end of the world as we know it, as Alex tried, and failed, to figure out why this was such a huge problem.

Seeing as she was starting to go into hysterics about it, he sighed, sacrificing his hard-made pizza. She denied it, and only when he promised to take the rest upstairs and give it to the teens, did she take a slice.

"What does it need?" Alex asked, curious to see what the other culinary genius had to say.

Nodding, she took one, before tasting the slice of mozzarella. Chewing slowly, she swallowed it, before focusing her attention on to Alex once more as he waited for her expert critique.

"Needs a little bit more salt, but otherwise perfect, though this was the first time I've eaten pizza in a while. You need to teach me to make it so I can cook it for them myself." Listening to the advice like the culinary gospel it was, he promised to teach her if she relaxed and let him cook sometimes, or at least taught him how to cook food like hers.

Calling out the promise after his retreating back, she smiled happily; even if she didn't want to bother him with the whole thing. Alex stormed up the stairs, politely knocking on the door - waiting patiently to be let in.

He tossed a baleful glare at Reborn, still remembering the trouble he had caused today, he smiled curtly at the two other people in the room. Whilst Gokudera was too busy glaring at Yamamoto to notice, Yamamoto smiled happily back, one hand scratching the back of his head as the other rested in a sling.

"I've brought pizza. Eat it or Nana-san murders you in your sleep." Alex was still wary, eyes on Reborn, as if afraid that he'll cause the end of the world if he escapes from view.

"Maa maa, pizza-chan, who are you?" The dark haired one - _Takeshi,_ his mind supplied - asked.

"I'm Alex Ivy. Or Ivy Alex if you want me to not be confusing. I'm from the United Kingdom, so I'm a little bit sketchy on traditions, which was why I asked to transfer schools to Japan for a bit," the response was a bit lengthy, but he wanted to give the two at least some explanation as to who he was.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, but if you want me to make it easier on you, you can call me Takeshi if you want, Alex-chan." Yamamoto shrugged, easy-going smile all over his face as he introduced himself. Turning to Gokudera, who was fuming in the corner, Tsuna all but ordered him to introduce himself to the new-comer. Snarling at him, he looked the other way, tearing into the pizza he brought.

"Gokudera Hayato. Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. I don't like you. The sooner we get this out the sooner you can leave my life, fangirl!" Gokudera snarled, unaware that he just set off a literal time bomb. Tsuna, using a juvenile form of Hyper Intuition, made himself as small as possible, fearing for his life as Alex's smile turned positively frigid.

Eying the scowling boy, he didn't see what was so special about what was in front of him.

"Pardon me, but _fangirl_? I'm sorry, but why would I ever be a fan of you. So please, save your breath and save us all from the garbage that's about to spew out your mouth - you need it to blow up your girlfriend." Alex was apoplectic - it's not as if he had antagonized him or anything.

"Shut your mouth, ginge!"

"I'm sorry, but was that supposed to be insulting?"

"You just need to shut up, carrot-top, are you on your period?"

"You look like you raided an aquarium and stuck one of the octopuses on your head. Like, seriously, I'm pretty sure I can see a tentacle moving in that mess you call hair."

On and on it went, neither side giving up. The argument lasted for as long as Gokudera stayed, both two stubborn to relent, and only ended because Yamamoto had to go home - prompting Tsuna to kick Gokudera out with him.

Tired, Alex said goodnight to Tsuna and Nana, and crawled into his bed shattered.

_Wait, do they think I'm a girl?_

Suddenly, he wasn't so tired anymore.

* * *

**-(Scene Break)-**

* * *

**Chapter 6, Fin~**

**Thanks everyone for the continued support, and I'm sorry for the rather lack-luster chapter. Next one will be super interesting, I promise, with quite a bit of action.**

**I've sent all reviewer replies out, so that's it for me~**

**So until next time~**

**Signed, HalcyonNight**


	7. Sette: Fragments

_**Disclaimer:**_**I do not own Katekyo. I only own some future plot devices, and Alex - but that's it xD**

**In this chapter, stuff goes on. BUT! Read carefully when you reach a specific part. You'll know what part I'm on about when you see it. Also, focus on what isn't said, instead of what is, when you reach the part above.**

**Also, shameless self promotion. I'll be starting up a request series soon, with pairings and the like being from you guys. More information is found on my profile, so check out the section titled 'Azure' to send in the things you want to see.**

**So without further fanfare, here is the chapter, so I hope you enjoy~**

* * *

_**-(Scene Break)-**_

* * *

There was nothing wrong.

That was Alex's first clue that, yes, there was most likely something _catastrophic _going on in his general vicinity – it just hadn't reached the feminine teen yet. That was how things generally tended to go in the Sawada household. You would wake up, roll lazily out of bed with eyes almost _glued _together from sleep, and then you would drag your sorry backside down the stairs and enjoy a particularly _scintillating _conversation with the eldest Sawada, with a cool, refreshing glass of orange juice in hand.

All of that had gone off without a hitch.

Alex was sat at the table, sipping his orange juice (with ice – you can't forget the ice), eyes scanning the room as if he was waiting for a mass-murderer to break down the door and tear the house apart.

The second clue that something was _terribly _wrong was the fact that Nana was currently looking at him as if she was trying to dissect him with her mind alone, piece by piece. Her gaze was piercing, and Alex had to wonder for a moment whether or not he had walked into the _bloody Twilight Zone _or something between the time he dragged his sorry ass out of bed and got down the stairs. She was just sat there, still, reminiscent of a praying mantis waiting patiently for her prey, all whilst sipping down a warm cup of Earl Grey.

But the most frightening thing about it all was that _Reborn wasn't around._

At _all._

And it wasn't as if Alex hadn't tried to look for the creepy spawn of Hell. He had.

When he first noticed that the so-called 'World's Greatest Hitman' wasn't around, it had immediately set off alarms in his head. So, like any other curious teen, he scoured the house from head to toe, looking for the pocket-sized demon. The red-head had looked in Tsuna's room, the travesty that it was, and the baby wasn't there.

Ok, he had thought, maybe he was elsewhere.

So he moved into the bathroom – maybe he was there instead?

But no, he wasn't. In fact all he got there were a load of painful memories that he had futilely tried to repress, all of which centred on a small rag that hung limply from the rack.

All that he had left to check was the living room, and surprise, surprise, the hitman wasn't there.

And that was a thought that well and truly terrified Alex.

Reborn was out there, doing unimaginable things to the poor, _poor_ populace of Namimori (though Alex had to wonder if Reborn's dastardly machinations were any worse than Hibari's own _tender _mercies) all in the name of forging Tsuna into a Number One Mafia Boss. If there was one thing that Alex had learned, it was that Reborn was pure evil, and most likely whatever plot he had concocted this time would inevitably lead back to the sarcastic red-head.

Just like it had the other day.

_Especially _like it had the other day.

To this day, Alex still couldn't figure out just why Reborn had manufactured a situation that culminated into him _cooking. _It all just seemed rather farfetched and absurd – like one of those crack-infested slice-of-life shows you hear about, where a deranged author tries their best to create strange situations for the cast – but that seemed to be the norm around here.

Reborn was a catalyst for chaos – at least that much was for certain, and sometimes Alex wondered if that was what he lived for.

Being a 2 year old there certainly wasn'tt much you could do. Other than, he supposed, go to nursery and make friends.

Alex didn't know what was scarier – the thought of Reborn being left alone with a bunch of impressionable two year olds, or the idea that he would actively _socialise _with a bunch of two year olds.

"Umm, Alex-kun, are you okay?" Nana asked, curious, tugging at the hem of her dress. "You look as if you've just swallowed a lemon."

"I guess you could say that I have," the redhead muttered, thoughts unable to stray from the idea of Reborn making friends with a bunch of children, "if what you call a lemon is the idea of Reborn having friends."

Nana blinked owlishly, before smiling.

Alex couldn't shake the feeling that she was judging him for his stupidity.

"Alexi-Alex don't be like that, I'm sure Reborn has some friends – I heard him talking about someone called Lambo Bovino before…" Nana stumbled, and Alex noticed the fact that she stumbled over his name.

He filed it away for later – he would ask her when it was more prudent.

"Rambo? As in the…?" Alex focused on the more important thing. Like why Reborn would be phoning someone up about Rambo.

But hey, Alex never proclaimed to know the inner workings of Reborn's mind, but he was sure that it was a deprived landscape of sadistic pleasure and espressos. It was a sad day when you started to view Espressos as the epitome of all evil in the world.

"ALeeeeeeeeeeeex, stop being mean," she pouted, acting far younger than her age. "You know it's hard for me to pronounce L's properly."

"Sorry Nana-san," he laughed, "you're just too easy to tease."

"You know, Alex-kun, you remind me of someone I used to know," soft smile on her face, she removed herself from the table, going back inside the kitchen.

"I do? I don't suppose they were incredibly handsome, were intelligent far beyond their years and had men and women alike falling at his feet? Because if they didn't have them three criteria then I doubt I should remind him of you." He joked, smirk plastered over his face.

"No…" the mischievous note to her tone made Alex wary, "she was a girl."

His head crashed down on the table, like a tiny meteor impacting on the ground, and Tsuna would later joke that he was hard-headed enough to leave a crater in the mahogany surface.

But, in the end, all Alex would do was glare at him and mouth the word Reborn.

He would soon shut up.

* * *

_**-(Scene Break)-**_

* * *

The very first thing that Alex noticed when he left the house was that it was stupidly sunny.

And by stupidly, he meant _stupidly. _He was very much attuned to colder climates, coming from a place that was notorious for its rain, and he almost melted into a puddle of red when he left the house. Japan's summers were far too different for his body to handle, and after a quick rush back into the house to grab a few ice cubes and a bottle of water (Nana had gifted it to him with a smile, politely ignoring the _beautiful _image of a sweaty teen gasping from the outside heat), he returned to combat the trek to school.

How on Earth the inside wasn't boiling was beyond him, and all he could think for answer to it was that it was somehow related to witchcraft. And Reborn.

Reborn witchcraft?

Definitely.

Alex was half tempted to just turn back around and play dead. He hadn't even made it half way there before his body wanted to melt in a puddle of red.

But school was important. Unfortunately. That and he didn't want to attract the ire of the resident Boogie Man. He didn't want to give Tsuna a heart attack so early in the morning, even if Reborn would take sadistic pleasure from it.

That was another thing that Alex noticed. Reborn, and Hibari, have a rather strange relationship together. They always side-step around each other, as if waiting for the other to make a move, and Hibari seems to have a grudging respect for the tiny assassin. It was mystifying how that particularly odd brand of camaraderie erupted, but he supposed he wasn't really around to see that friendship-that-really-wasn't-a-friendship blossom.

Every time that a Hibari-localised situation occurred, Alex was always elsewhere. He was shocked that the teen hadn't hunted him down, armed and ready, considering the words that he spoke to him. If what the local rumours were to be believed, then the first thing Hibari should have done was hunt him down and _bite him to death._

Alex, so lost in his thoughts, almost missed the scream of fear that rumbled out of a nearby alleyway.

"Either that was a scream of fear, or my stomach decided to inhale helium whilst I wasn't looking," Alex whispered under his breath, scowling, plucking out of his bag the same old rusty pipe that he used a while ago, and pilfered a trash can lid off one of the many bins lying around.

He manoeuvred his head around the corner of the alleyway, his ginger locks tumbling as he did so, and it took him a moment to digest what was occurring. An all too familiar boy, the same boy that both he and Ryohei worked hard on saving, was being bullied once more by Hibari's merry band of _disciplinarians._ Annoyance bloomed at the thought, and with a scowl he made his presence known, standing in the entranceway with the pipe and lid.

Scowl still branded on his face, he harshly smashed them together, the loud clang echoing loudly into the alleyway.

One by one, they turned, the pack of animals staring at him as if unsure of what to make of him. Alex stared right back, uncaring of the fact that he was outnumbered, and just clang the steel weapons together once more.

Then, like a pack of squirrels, they ran – stampeding out the alleyway in the opposite direction of the annoyed boy.

Leaving behind Alex, the young child, and just one of its members behind.

"Well, that was something that was unexpected." Alex was left blinking at the sight, processing what had taken place. "Normally you lot are a bit more foolhardy then that, charging in recklessly like a school of pompadour-haired fish."

The member left behind blinked, as if unused to being singled out.

Alex raked his eyes over the last member, slowly and meticulously burning him into member. The one left behind was different from the rest of the Pompadour Crew, even if he fit the same fold as them. Other than the pompadour hair style, he looked ordinary, _average, _and if you squint you could see that he was slightly attractive. He was around the same height as Yamamoto, with eyes of the same colour, and if Alex didn't know better he would assume that they were related.

If he dropped the hair style, he probably would have even had a fan-club of his own, filled to the brim with overly clingy fangirls.

He would love it. _Totally._

The disciplinarian was also glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand suns

"Pardon me, but I couldn't help but notice you were trying to hurt this little boy. Now, I don't suppose you'll be helpful and sate my curiosity on whyyou were bullying this kid, _**again**_?" Alex glared right back into mocha orbs, completely unafraid of the teen spelling death with his eyes.

"We needed to send out a message." The grunt said, humouring Alex with a response.

"A…message," colour him sceptical, Alex eyebrows quirked upwards, "what sort of message could you be trying to get out by _assaulting_ a child?" The child in question ran towards him, storming past his previous aggressor, seeking solace behind the redhead.

The teen didn't answer, instead giving the child a meaningful look that Alex couldn't decipher, and rifled around in his pockets for something. He pulled out a phone, a sleek silver thing, and typed up a quick message, before returning it to its place in his pocket.

_Well, this certainly didn't go to plan…_

It seemed that the boy was tired of being cooperative, the teen charging towards Alex like a reckless bull

Taking into account the fact that he couldn't just jump out of the way off the hit, not unless he wanted the child behind him to be hit, the pipe-toting male cursed, staying adamantly in front of the kid.

Seeing the fist flying toward his face, he raised his make-shift shield in front of it, protecting him.

His arm shook painfully at the force behind the blow, rattling him, but gave him an opportunity to strike whilst the enemy was cradling his wounded fist. Swinging the pipe in a wide arc, he aimed to take him down in one blow, so that he could quickly remove the danger before his young ward was injured.

With a satisfying clunk, the attack connected, knocking the grunt down for the count. Alex felt slightly guilty, as he certainly won't be getting up for a while, if the force behind the blow said anything.

"Guess like all that training with Ryohei is useful for something," for the first time since he stepped foot in Namimori, he felt strong, powerful.

Gesturing for the kid to follow him, he listened in silence to the child's mad ramblings, as Alex escorted him out of the alleyway and away from the unconscious body. The duo entered a nearby convenience store, the clerk at the till giving the two a cheery hello, and after buying himself a can of Dr Pepper and the child some orange juice, he informed her of the body lying in the alleyway.

With a soft noise of understanding, she told him not to worry about it, and that she could take care of him. Thanking her, she told him no problems, and asked that he called her Sakuya-san. Nodding once again in gratitude, he left the happy worker, leaving the establishment.

"So, kiddo, you still have yet to tell me your name." Alex chirped, interrupting the kid's rant like a knife through hot butter.

"Oh, my name is Natsu Mitsurugi. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Natsu's eyes glittered happily, the bouncy boy radiating energy as they walked together. "Hey, Pretty Lady, where are we going?"

"First of, my name isn't Pretty Lady – It's Alex Ivy. Or, well, Ivy Alex. And or your information, today is a school day is it not? So I'm taking you to school." Alex sighed, tired, "I can't exactly leave you alone, at least not in good faith, what with all of them grunts running around."

"Oh yeah, I haven't thanked you properly!" Natsu dashed forward, standing in front of him with hands on hips, chest puffed out like a cute baby bird, "Thank you, Alex-hime."

Impressively, the child pronounced his name right.

"So, Natsu-chan, why exactly were those guys being mean to you?" Alex asked, following after the boy, duly ignoring the fact that he was called _hime._

"Those guys?" He parroted, staring at his saviour for recognition. After receiving confirmation, he continued, "They are always like that…" he sighed, morose.

"Do you know why?" No matter how guilty it made him feel, the saviour had to continue to ask. He needed to get down to the bottom of this.

"…no." Alex didn't know him well enough to tell if he was lying or not, so he just let it go. There would be other, more prudent ways of finding answers.

By going directly to the source.

"We're here." Natsu suddenly announced, the excitement quickly returning to him. With a hasty goodbye, the child ran off into the gates of the school, escaping into the school before Alex could even say goodbye.

"That…that was bizarre." Alex twirled on his feet and left, not even bothering to take in the sights. He was late, incredibly late for lessons, and he was running through excuses he could give to the teacher.

He could always just say that he got lost. But then they would question him on how he got lost when he had been going to the school for at least a month already.

The teaching faculty at Namimori Middle aren't exactly stellar, so he could just forge a note saying that he wasn't well and be let off from school. But then they would phone home, and then find out that Nana hadn't written a note and that wouldn't be fun.

Certainly not for Alex at least.

"Herbivore."

_Pardon?_

Alex stopped, stock still in the middle of the street, recognising the voice that had interrupted. With measured steps, he started back up, ignoring the grating voice that was slowly but surely catching up to him.

"Herbivore."

Alex carried on walking.

"Herbivore."

The walk was slowly becoming a power walk.

"Herbivore."

"What. Hedgehog. _What." _Irate, Alex tossed the boy behind him a frigid glare, just daring him to say anything. "Why are you following me like some bizarre puppy? Do you have a crush on me? Because, I'm sorry tall dark and pointy but you aren't exactly-"

"You're late."

"Yes, Hibaka, I'm aware that I'm late but-"

The last thing that Alex saw before being knocked unconscious was a speeding Tonfa colliding with his forehead, sending him crashing into unconsciousness with all the grace of a building toppling over.

"You are also annoying."

A second tonfa crashed into the unconscious boy's skull, making Alex moan in discomfort.

* * *

_**-(Scene Break)-**_

* * *

With the headache of the century, Alex stumbled into the classroom a sweaty mess.

A quiet apology to the teacher, who after seeing the bruise on his forehead just made a noise of understanding, the one living body of Alex crashed onto his desk, all but dead to the world.

Ryohei said his typical greeting, whilst Mrs Heartoak just dropped off a letter on his desk.

Not even the Extreme-ness of Ryohei could keep him wake long enough to sit through the lesson.

-(Scene Break)-

Head aching, but thankfully not as bad as before, Alex shambled his way into the Boxing Club.

The school day was over, but like usual, Alex stayed behind to help out in the Boxing Club. After the other two members left, much to the red-head's chagrin and Ryohei's shouts of 'unextremeness' it was just them two now. Hardly anyone – other than Hibari, but Alex doesn't want to even think about the _carnivore – _was left inside the school building, and at one point even he had left, heading back to the Sawada residence to pick up some food.

"Oi, Ryohei," gruff from the headache, Alex broiled when he was being ignored by the boxer, who was pummelling a sand bag hanging from the ceiling into submission.

"Ryohei."

The scuffle raged on, the boxer quite obviously not hearing Alex.

"R-yo-heiiiii."

Still he punched on.

Then Alex got tired of getting his attention, and instead reached into the bag in his side. One smack of the pipe on the lid was enough to remove Ryohei's attention from his training.

And make his headache flare up, but it was a worthy sacrifice.

"Alex…" Ryohei stared in confusion, "I thought you went home?"

A sigh, and a yellow bento was hoisted into the air.

"That's food." Ryohei charged from his post, snagging the bento from where it dangled. "EXTREME THANK YOU!"

"Don't worry about it Ryohei, just enjoy it." Alex followed Ryohei to where he sprawled himself, the boxer flopping onto the floor to eat his Bento. "I had a little help from Sawada-san on this one, so it is better than usual."

"Sawada-san?"

"Not the 'EXTREME BOXERS' one – his mother."

At this Ryohei just grunted in understanding, digging into the food that he prepared. Alex joined him, using his chopsticks to pluck some rice out, eyes coming into contact with a small slip of paper hidden within.

_Now isn't that peculiar…_

Alex pocketed it, making a note to read it when he is alone.

"Alex…" Ryohei started, taking his mind off the slip of paper, "Is it bad that we are the only friends the other has?" Ryohei asked the perplexed boy, eyes closed as if in hiding from the world.

Alex stared, perplexed at the question, unsure of where this was coming from.

Not really knowing what to say at the moment, even if it was against his verbose nature, he just stayed silent, his mind racing to figure out the right words.

He embraced him.

Because sometimes, you don't really need words to get your feelings across.

"You know, we are all we need. You'll grow up, get an education and train as if your life depends on it. You'll become a famous boxer, and I'll be a teacher, and that is all we need. With time, we'll meet new people and get new friends, and that's something I'm certain off. All we need to do is be Extreme, got it?"

Moving his head away from its rest on his arm, he stared up at the startled boxer, who had a light blush on his face at the close quarters. After waiting for a few more moments, just so that the boxer could calm down and realise that it isn't a bad thing, Alex stood up, stretching like a cat.

"Shouldn't we get to training then, otherwise we might not even get to York hall or Madison Square Gardens?

With a cry of Extreme, Ryohei was on him in seconds, the red-head scrambling out the way.

The slip of paper forgotten.

* * *

**-(Scene Break)-**

* * *

_Why did it always end up being the park?_

Alex stifled a yawn, his face twisting and contorting as he held in the air, the tired teen rubbing at the sleep in his eyes as he left the house. It was early, far too early for anyone in the right mind to be up and about, but for some bizarre reason he had been called out by Nana. The note held nothing more than a location and a time.

She had left it in a place that she _knew _he would see it. A place that was so specific that it couldn't have been placed there by accident, unless a new ingredient for _rice _was _paper, _and no cooking journal that he has ever read ever stated paper as an important ingredient.

Sure, it could have been a prank, but Alex could feel that it wasn't. This sort of thing just wasn't Nana's style – sure, she was playful, happy and oblivious, but she was too much like Tsuna to play a malicious prank.

Though in saying that, something told Alex that she wasn't as oblivious as he had previously thought.

The familiar, rusted archway looked as if it would fall when he stepped under it, and with a nervous glance upward Alex could see that it had sustained quite a bit of damage since he had first seen it. Before, it was only just showing signs of disuse, but now…now it looked like it had been abandoned for years.

But so did the rest of the old playground.

It was like stepping into the garden of antiquity. Tall, discoloured slides stood sentinel, ruby plastic held up by corroded steel, side-by-side with russet swings. Carefully, as if the surrounding world would fall apart if he made to much noise, Alex walked inside. Every other time that he had been here, he had just rushed through, and whilst he did admire the general _avant-garde _appeal of the place he tended to just ignore the tranquil side to it.

And the creepy side.

"I've never noticed how disconcerting this place was," trailing off, Alex took a seat on one of the rusted swing-sets, praying to a higher power that it wouldn't dissolve just because of a little added weight. Relieved when it didn't melt, he relaxed his tense muscles, fishing out the slip of paper that sent him on this merry adventure in the first place.

"Alex-chan, please come see me in that old park. Make sure to be there for _three in the morning_, and don't be late," Alex read aloud, softly so as to not break the tranquil atmosphere, a light smirk crossing his face as his eyes traced the smiley face printed at the end.

_How very…Nana._

"Alex, you came!"

_Speak of the Devil._

"Sawada-san, please," hand on heart, Alex honestly nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Did I scare you?" Nana giggled, joining Alex on the swing. "I'm sorry."

"No. You didn't. I don't get scared." As an afterthought he added "Totes".

"I'll take your word for it," she had the same old smile on her face; the smile that he learned was purely Nana.

"So, what are we here for…?" Alex's attention disappeared, the words dying in his throat as he took in just what she was wearing.

Nana's attire, in Alex's opinion, was nothing short of baffling. A burnt yellow chrysanthemum was slotted loosely behind her ear, contrasting brilliantly with her brunette locks. A loose fitting, ivory blouse clung hesitantly to her lithe frame, the edge of which made way to a pair of imperial blue jeans. To top it all off, a pair of boots fit snugly to her feet, the chocolate footwear looking fashionable despite how worn they looked, the fabric looking faint.

"So you noticed this, huh?" Nana giggled, laughing at the look of bafflement on the red-head's face.

"You can certainly say that…" Alex sat on the old swing, surprised, as he stared.

"I don't usually wear things like this," she was still smiling, though the smile was slowly growing strained, the usually oblivious woman painfully aware of the analytical stare.

"You can say that again." Alex, finally realising that she was growing uncomfortable, removed his gaze, instead focusing up into the night sky. "What makes today so different?"

The housewife opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped, instead sighing lightly. Her eyes, the exact same shade of brown as Tsuna's, joined Alex's emerald as they perused the night sky.

"Today's my anniversary, you know." Nana reached a hand into her hair, pulling the frayed chrysanthemum from her hair, letting the flower rest lightly in her palms.

"For you and Tsuna's father correct – the construction builder?" Alex remembered only little of the actual conversation, but one thing that he had managed to glean from it was that her husband was a construction worker.

"That," the confliction on her face faded, replaced instead by conviction, "I, I want to ask you something, something incredibly important."

Curious, Alex just bit his lip, and with a slight gesture told her to go ahead.

"Just know this, once you know what it is, please hear me out. Don't just step away and whatever you do _promise me _you won't tell _anyone _about this." Wild-eyed, the words tumbled out like liquid desperation, and for the first time Alex could see fear in her eyes.

Nana was reaching out to him, and Alex knew that after this, everything was going to change.

Later on, when all that was said and done, Alex would swear on his heart of hearts that this would be one of the few things he would never regret. No matter how hard the trials put forth became, no matter how distressed he would become, no matter all the pain he suffered – his decision would be something that he'll always stand by.

_Goodbye Halcyon Days…_

All Alex did was nod, agreeing to her terms.

"Thank you," taking a deep breath, Nana began her tale. "I guess, well, I guess you could say that my husband isn't who he says he is. He is a part of the CEDEF."

"CEDEF?" Alex parroted.

"The CEDEF, the 'Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia'. It is an off-shoot of the Mafia Family known as the Vongola." Alex's eyes lit up in understanding at that name, _Vongola. _

_Isn't that the Mafia family that Tsuna is…?_

"I know about the Mafia. I know about Reborn, about Iemitsu, about _everything. _I know what that Reborn wants to do with my baby, what he wants to do with my _little Tsuna,_" Her voice cracked, tears dripping down her face as she spoke, "he wants to take my little boy and _break_ him, _tear_ him apart and then build him back into a _monster_."

Petals fell as the tormented woman clutched tightly to the flower in her hand, staining the ground with yellow. Her sorrow palpable, her heart-ache clear for the world to see, and all Alex could do was watch as the woman broke apart in front of his eyes, unable to help her as she cried.

"A…monster?" Alex echoed the words back to her, powerless to do anything but repeat the words over and over again.

"A monster like Reborn, a monster like Iemitsu, a monster…" Nana had pulled out a handkerchief, a small pleated thing, dabbing her eyes lightly – trying her best to stem the flow.

"A monster like me."

"What do you even mean by that?" Alex shouted, outraged.

"I want you to do something for me," Nana reached out, the flower tumbling to the ground, as she gripped Alex's hands tightly. "Please! Help me protect Tsuna!"

"Help me protect my precious baby!"

* * *

_**Chapter , Fin~**_

**...I hope you like cliffhangers. **

**Okay, so that last section is probably confusing to you, but I'll try my best to give a non-spoileriffic breakdown of it. My logic of Nana is that she would do anything for her child, even if at times she is disappointed in his lack of success, and also do anything for her friends. It may seem completely random that she would approach Alex, but all that will be explained in chapter 7, where we see more Alex/Nana interactions and a plot forming.**

**Shocking I know. We're actually moving forward. **

**I did promise flame reveal + Mukuro + Ninjas,but I can't toss in Mukuro yet - so instead I gave you guys Hibari. I feel like an angry parent, trying to force-feed a child something that they don't want when they were promised something else xD.**

**Another reminder to check my profile if you are interested in requesting a drabble, and to read the information there. Other than that, all I have left to say is that I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.**

**Signed, HalcyonNight.**


	8. Otto: Ombra della Vongola

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. If I did, then there will be significantly more BAMF females. Even if it is a Shonen Anime/Manga series.**

**Guys, I want to apologise for how long this took for me to get out. I had to write this out on a TABLET, which took me absolutely years to do. For those that are fans of CDN, expect that to be done for Wednesday/Thursday, because my computer is not working and I'm surprised I even got it to turn on to post this.**

**Anyway. Flame reveal today. I hope you're ready for it. You get to see Nana's flame in action, and you get the final hint to what his flame could be. If you still don't get it, a more explicit reveal will be done next time.**

**And I'm sorry for any errors, typing on tablet was really hard for me.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"You…you want me to protect Tsuna?" Alex hissed, tone venomous, fists clenched in anger. "Do you even know what you are saying?"

"I am asking you to help me protect my child." Nana stood firm, standing by her decree with the resolution Alex knew she had deep inside her.

"I get that, I really, _really _get that – I just don't know how I am supposed to help," lost and angry, Alex could feel tears of frustration building in his eyes, emotions getting the better of him, "and what's all this garbage about bloody being a monster?"

"Alex, please…"

"No, you _seriously _need to hear this." The red-head was tired and annoyed and was probably over-reacting but to him she really needed to see. "You're always smiling, you're always laughing, you're always there ready to give out advice – whenever there is a problem you have a solution. Sure, you can be a bit oblivious at times, and your words can hurt people's feelings sometimes and I think that you could at least try to hide your disappointment at Tsuna but none of that matters because you're _Nana Sawada." _

He may have been left panting by the end, and he knew that some of that was garbled and nonsensical – but none of that mattered as long as she understood.

As long as she understood that she wasn't a _monster._

"You, you aren't a monster," the Brit inhaled deeply, trying to calm his emotions, "you're just _you._"

The last words sounded weak and pathetic, the rant burning out, dying into cold embers that fizzled away into the night. Alex's soft gasps of air were the only thing that dared to fracture the tranquil scenery, whilst Nana was giving Alex a perturbed look.

"That's nice of you to say…but they are just empty words. Pretty, but meaningless." Defeated, the tired woman let the flower in her hand fall, the abused stem bouncing soundlessly as it hit the ground. "And, just like she did to me, I'm going to be guiding you down that very same path we tread together."

"I think you should know a bit more about my story." She decided, as if it would answer all of his questions.

"A long time ago, exactly one year before meeting Iemitsu, I met someone else that was associated with the mafia. She was beautiful and strong, always with an answer to everything, and she was my very best friend." Nana's gloved hands, free of the yellow chrysanthemum, were folded in her lap.

"But then she died, huh?"

"We hadn't known each-other long, we shouldn't have gotten so close so quickly, but we did. And then, one month before I began my waitressing job, she died, leaving me alone." Nana sighed, getting to her feet. "Today was the day that Iemitsu and I were married, just as today was the day that my best friend died."

"There is just one thing that I don't quite understand…why are you telling me?" Alex couldn't get his head around it – they hadn't known each-other for long. "Of all the people you could have turned to, Gokudera-san or Yamamoto-san or even Reborn–san, why pick me?"

"You want the truth?" Alex nodded, curiosity shining through. "I told you because you deserve to know."

"I deserve to know?" Nana was a walking enigma – every question she answered paved the way for many more.

"You are so much like her. Too much like her. It scares me – when I look at you, I see her. I see everything she ever was, and all the things that she wasn't."

"That…that explains quite a bit, actually."

And to Alex, it truly did. The odd looks that she would toss him – those moments where she would look at him but not actually see him. Those times where she knew far more than what her oblivious persona let on, where she would just smile and let the world carry on treading along. The times where Alex felt like what he was seeing was not truly there, where she seemed to be off in her own little world.

She opened her mouth, as if to continue, only to be interrupted by the loud, piercing jingle of someone's phone. It was Nana's, the emotional woman calming herself down, taking deep breathes as the phone repeated the same tune over and over and over again.

When she had deemed herself ready, she flipped her phone open, answering the call.

"Hello?" If Alex hadn't just bared witness to what had happened, he wouldn't have thought anything was amiss – her voice had returned to its usual merry tenor. "Yea, I'll bring him over now, I'll see you soon."

Her ever-present smile returned along with her composure, she repeated the question once more, an unknown glint in her eye.

"Will you help me protect my precious baby?"

She reached out with one hand, holding it for him to shake.

"Let's go, we've got plans to make," a shadow of a smirk on his face, he met her halfway.

_Guess like I'm in this for the long haul – don't worry Tsuna; I've got your back._

* * *

Namimori was a dichotomy.

Emerald eyes danced across their surroundings, the young boy trailing after Nana doggedly. They walked in a blissful silence, minds elsewhere, as Alex tried his best to commit this path to memory. They are in unfamiliar territory, as it were – he was used to the more _suburban _side of Namimori. He wasn't used to, well, _this._

He couldn't help but be tense. All around him, shadows flickered, hiding in the deep dark of the alleyways. Ever since stumbling in to this side of town, by complete accident (he still had yet to completely forgive Ryohei for the completely garbage explanation) he couldn't help but be wary. This area was a labyrinth of old, derelict buildings, the dull browns and dirty oranges just barely visible in the nightlight.

You could easily get lost here if you weren't careful.

Alex was just happy that he had yet to see any of the more _unsavoury _people that lurked around these areas. He may not have seen any dangerous folk just yet, but he wasn't stupid. Drug-dealers, muggers, murderers – all were attracted to these kinds of places. The whys of it he didn't really care for, just as long as he wasn't attacked around here.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Alex stifled a yawn, turning his full attention back to Nana. The staccato click-clack of her heels on the concrete telling him instantly where she was.

"Oh," startled out of her reverie, she replied, "you'll see soon, don't you worry about that mister."

The red-head wondered if it was worth it to question her further, but decided against it.

He had already gone through one major plot twist; he didn't want to have to go through another. It would fracture his already fragmented mental state into small, irrecoverable pieces – if he heard her say something, anything out there then his sense of disbelief would snap and he go off his rocker.

_Alex, deep breaths, you can do this. Remember why you accepted in the first place, and you'll be just fine._

"I have to be strong."

And that was that. The Brit would just have to accept things as they come. That's what strong people do.

"Alex-kun, did you say something?" Nana still had yet to turn around, he head turning every now and again to keep track of where she was going.

"No, nothing." She didn't need to know what was going on in his mind, Alex decided.

"If you want to know something, just ask. I'll answer all your questions, as it is the least that I can do." Satisfied in the way that made it clear that she really wasn't, Nana let it go.

"Anything?" The bewildered Brit echoed, mind racing.

"Anything. But keep in mind that I'll be explaining more when we get there." She warned.

The possibilities were endless. He could ask her about anything, and she would answer. He could ask about her past, about the woman that led her to join the mafia, about her husband. Alex had the key to all the knowledge that she held, and in typical Ivy fashion he was going to wring it out of her.

"But that'll have to wait."

And just like that, she took the key back, stuck her tongue out at him and shattered all his hopes.

"Are we…here?" They were stood in front of one of the many broken buildings that littered the area, the same old dusty beige that made up the rest of eastern Namimori. It looked a bit like a home, as if someone had once lived there but time had slowly creeped up on the house and it's inhabitants, slowly moulding it into what it is today.

"We are," she _click-clacked _over to the busted door, pausing as her hand rested over the beaten door knob, "Alex, it isn't too late to turn back. I can take you back to the house and we can pretend that this never happened."

"I told you, Nana-san," Alex wasn't blind; he heard the vulnerabilities in her voice, "I agreed to help. The consequences of my actions are mine alone, and they really shouldn't be something you worry about."

"I'm proud of you," twisting the door knob, a piercing creak echoed through the empty streets, before she entered.

There was little for him to do but follow her. He couldn't give himself time to second guess his decision – this was something that he had to devote himself to, or he would falter.

When he entered the building, what he saw was not what he was expecting. What he first thought was a house was, in fact, a shop.

A shop that looked more like a walking armada then an actual shop – guns littered the walls, whilst countless katanas lined the wall as if they were common, everyday items. Assortments of weapons were hanged precariously on the walls, ranging from the _relatively _commonplace to the surreal. His eyes caught onto a bladed _hula-hoop, _the curves glinting dangerously in the dim light, the metal looking like it could tear through skin as if it was paper. A clock was pasted on the wall, the little hand twitching, convulsing in place as if forcefully frozen in time.

Nana stood at the counter, an old wooden piece that had seen better days, next to what appeared to be an old man. Transfixed, Alex stood in the aisle, painting the man's image into his eyes.

Steely blue orbs seemed more like daggers than eyes, digging into Alex's soul ferociously. If he had to use one word to describe him, it would be dangerous. A proud jawline gave way to thin, chapped lips which sat underneath a large moustache. His silver hair grew unkempt, jutting out wildly and unchecked.

He looked like he has seen war, if the pain that was almost omnipresent on his features had anything to say about it. Horrific scars told their own story, of love and war and death and life, but for what it was worth Alex just couldn't feel pity for the man.

It just didn't feel right to pity someone that had been through so much. All he could do was respect just what this man had been through.

"So this th' boy?" Gruff and rough, his voice was everything Alex expected it would be.

"It is," Nana answered, leaning tiredly on the counter, "I brought him just like I said I would."

"I feel like I'm out of the loop here," Alex, fatigue getting the best of him, was slowly becoming agitated – he didn't like being talked about as if he wasn't there.

"Sorry about that, Alex-kun." She turned to the elderly man, and after a nod, she continued, "this was our teacher, our "Shishou", and if things work out for the best he'll be your teacher too."

"Th' name's Alexander," his muscular arms crossed over a wide chest, he tossed a gimlet stare at the teen.

To Alex, he looked every bit the part of a defender, a conqueror.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Alex was ignored by the man, who had retreated behind the counter, the man grunting in exertion as he bent underneath the counter to search for something.

"Oh don't mind him," Nana giggled, finding Alex's askance expression funny, "he's like that to everyone he meets. What do those anime fans call it?"

"Call what?" He was only half paying attention, mostly focusing on the old man behind the counter.

"That's it! I heard my precious Tsu-kun saying something like this. Alexander-shishou is a _tsundere. _Or a yandere. Or _both._"

_It was official. Nana has completely gone off her rocker._

"Yea and I'm the Queen of England." Deadpan, the Brit decided to completely write off anything Nana says ever again. It wasn't worth the mental trauma.

"You are?"

Sad as it was, he was already missing the desperate Nana he saw before. Normal Nana was too much for his delicate sensibilities to handle. Kyoko, Ryohei, even _Hibari _he could handle, but not happy Nana.

No, happy Nana was far too much for him.

"Shut it Brat, you're traumatising 'im," finally finding what it was he was looking for, Alexander straightened himself out, placing a black box on the top for all to see, "do I 'ave to tell 'im about the state you were in after meetin' that lyin' sonuvatool Iemitsu."

"Iemitsu? As in Tokugawa Iemitsu." Alex piped up, realising the irony. "And he called his child _Tsunayoshi? _What next, he has a grandfather called Ieyasu?"

"Yes? Is there something wrong with that?" Voice clipped, Nana wasn't amused at the jibe.

"Nothing, nothing," placating the woman, he quickly changed the conversation topic, "so, any particular reason why you have enough weapons here to supply the world over?"

"It's a shop. A weapons shop. Whaddya' expect there ta' be? Ponies?" He chortled, amusement flickering on to his grizzled face. "Now, open the box."

"Go on, open it up. It won't bite." Nana encouraged, pushing the box forward slightly as if that would make it more of an enticing option.

Alex had never thought that a box could be so ominous, but if there was ever going to be one, it would be this one. With shaking hands, the boy lifted the lid up carefully, as if it was the most priceless china, revealing the rich velvet underneath.

"It's a weapon." Dumbfounded, he was left looking at the contents in awe.

"A sword and a shield. A good offense and a good defence. It suits you." The mother's smile was soft, warm. "Its previous owner was someone important to us, so I hope you use them well."

"I'll…I'll try." He reached out to pick them up, before stopping, hands instead falling to grip the rim of the box tight.

The blade itself was short, but no less deadly – in fact, this was good for him. It looked like a weapon that needed precision and speed, and didn't rely on pure power like larger, more robust weapons like a Zweihander or a Warhammer. It was a pretty weapon, the blade's edges curving inwards at the tip, coming together at the tip in a manner reminiscent of an arrowhead, and no less painful. The shield held an insignia burned into it, a golden 'V' resting in the centre of the shield like a brand. Its rim silver, the rest was a deep, frosty blue.

"Pick the bloody thing up," the old man was getting impatient, snarling under his breath.

Not even deigning it with a response, the now sword-wielding teen gripped the blade by its decorated hilt, raising it out of its silky grave as if it belonged with him. The blade was soon followed by the shield, his hands resting comfortably on the handle.

"It's a Xiphos, and that's a, well, short shield." The sword in question was gripped ever tighter, whilst Alex was intrigued by Nana's knowledge of weaponry.

"Really? Nana, I wouldn't peg you as the sort to like weaponry." She only smiled tightly.

"I was told." Alex blinked once, twice, three times before connecting the dots.

"Good. If ya Dying Will dint fit it then we would 'ave been fucked."

"Language," tone glacial, the only woman glared death at the shop-owner. "Now that Alex-kun has his weapon, we should head out to the back."

Alex remained silent in favour of following the conversation. If his hunch was right, then soon enough he'll be getting all the answers he could ever want soon enough.

"He's joinin' us then?" Alexander lifted up a loose slat of wood, allowing the other two people to join him. "He's only a kid, not like when it was you."

"I may be a child, as you so aptly put it, but I can make my own decisions thank you very much." He may be going into this rashly, but at least he had a choice in the matter – unlike Tsuna, who was forced into this as a result of some baby's machinations.

"He isn't even the youngest person that's being scouted by the Vongola, my own child is too, along with the young Yamamoto, the Smoking Bomb and the elder Sasagawa sibling," Alex perked up, intrigued, this was the first time that he has heard of this, "Reborn has even called over the Poison Scorpion, and the Bovino heir. They'll be arriving any day now."

"We should continue this further in." Nana looked shocked, as if he had just said something preposterous, but soon agreed.

Decisive, the owner of the shop lead the two of them to an old, wooden door that Alex only know spotted – the brown wood blending into the rest of the surroundings easily.

The room he entered was just as desolate as the area it was in.

A round table was set up in the centre, the group kicking up dust as they walked towards it. Perhaps once many people would have frequented the table, but now only few remained, if the number of chairs were anything to go buy. Seven. Seven empty chairs placed around an empty table in an empty room. Curiously, on each chair there was a symbol engraved at the top, and the closer the redhead looked at them the more they started to look more like thrones.

"It's been a long time since I've seen this place…" The femme-fatale whispered, nostalgia glimmering in her caramel orbs. "You didn't clean it up, like I asked?"

"Didn't see th' need ta do it." He moved to one of the seats, the "Gauntlet", before rummaging through his pockets. "You've got your ring, right?"

The woman just lifted her hands, her bare hands, smiling innocently.

"Your games aren't gonna work on me, known ya too long."

Alex was about to ask about the significance of the ring, before the words died pitifully in his throat as what appeared to be _indigo flames_ dripped off her hands and splashed onto the floor. Left behind by the flames was a ring of silver, a dark sapphire gemstone embedded in the surface.

…_What sort of drugs am I on, and where did I get them, because that stuff made no sense whatsoever._

"You aren't any fun," she pouted, "why can't you be more like Alex-kun – see he's impressed."

"I'm not impressed. I'm wondering how on Earth flames can melt." The flames themselves may have vanished, but their effect still lingered on in his mind.

"You've seen my son's forehead burn orange and you manage to bat that off, but it's this that gets to you?" She seemed amused by this.

"…touché."

"Nana, seat." Alexander ordered, short and to the point.

"Ok, _Pugno-sama." _She took her own seat, settling down at the one inscribed with a fan.

"Pugno-sama?" Alex felt a bit stupid, standing up whilst the others were sat down.

"Our code-names." She answered kindly. "We chose them ourselves, one of the last bits of freedom we get. Alexander was boring and chose the name of his weapon, and I took the name of Kanna."

"Isn't that a little cliché?" Alex thought that this sort of thing only happened in the imagination of children and in the movie industry, not in real life groups.

"Just because it is a cliché doesn't mean it's bad. It may sound stupid now, but, it's nice to have a separate entity," her smile remained, but it was strained, "makes you remember why you're doing these sorts of things."

"You're code-name will be ya very best friend, so choose it wisely." Alexander warned, something clenched tightly in his hand.

"A code-name huh? It can be anything, right?" They nodded in unison. "I've got it. I'll be Alcyone."

"Alcyone?" Alex nodded.

"Well then, Alcyone, welcome to the team." Happy, Nana clapped her hands together, excited. "I'll make you an extra special dinner tonight…today…later! I'll make everyone a western styled meal!"

"Just like that, I'm in?" Suffice to say it felt slightly anticlimactic. He was half expecting to have to fight a bear, or murder a smurf or something crazy like that.

"No." _Pugno's _gnarled hands gripped the arm of the chair, his topaz ring glittering in the low light. Nana stopped clapping as she realised what had to be done.

"What do I have to do then?" Resolute, he was comforted by the blade in his hands, feeling confident that he could handle anything that they throw at him.

"First, sit at your seat," seeing the confusion on his face, he was pointed towards the seat that was decorated with a sword and a shield – his weapons.

His chair was surprisingly comfy, despite how worn it looked, and he was reminded of just how late it was. He wasn't going to bother turning up for school tomorrow, and unless he wanted to pull an all-nighter he wasn't going to be able to get up in the morning to go.

"I have one last thing to give you before we give you the test." The leader of the group held out his hand, a ring not dissimilar to the ones owned by the others. In fact, it looked exactly the same – a silver band that had a written inscription across it, "_Ombra della Vongola_", and a gemstone set into the center.

A large, beautiful aquamarine taking the place that the topaz and the sapphire did in its sister-rings.

"Put it on." Hearing it for the order that it was, he slotted it on his finger, marveling at it. It looked expensive. "These rings are symbols of our status, and whilst they aren't as special as the Vongola Rings or the Mare Rings these hold a special little power all of their own."

"Vongola Rings?" Alex piped up, only to be waved off with a laugh and a 'you'll find out soon enough'.

"How am I going to hide this from the others?" The only problem he saw with it was how on Earth he was going to hide it from everyone else. It may look nice, but it was going to be suspicious if he started to walk around with an expensive looking ring on his finger.

"That'll be your problem."

"Thanks. That's what I needed to hear right now." Alex sighed, dismayed. "Well, I guess like I should get this trial of yours over and done with."

"Well then silly, get over here," rightfully cautious, he leaned forward over the table, so that he was close to the woman. Deeming him close enough, the ring in her hand started to glow, sending rays of deep blue throughout the room, encasing her hands in its warmth. "I'm rooting for you, Alex-kun. Good luck!"

That was the last thing that he heard before her hands reached his temples, and his world fell apart from all around him and he knew no more.

* * *

_Ughh, my aching head…_

When he next awoke, it was to the cheers of a massive audience.

The first thing he noticed was the sand he was lying on, the granules warm under the sun in the sky, and the dim sound of static in the background. Sand sticking to him, he stood up, looking around.

He was in a coliseum.

_Oh you have got to be kidding me._

* * *

_**Chapter 8, Fin~**_

**The long awaited eighth chapter is out. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks for everyone that reviewed and followed/fave'd, and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! We saw some action going on, the trial will go down next chapter, and I introduce Lambo/Bianchi to the world. Wont that be fun.**

**Sorry for the cliffhanger, but... :D**

**Anyway, until next time~**

**Signed, HalcyonNight.**

**P.S: Check my profile for status updates. I try to post as much information as I can up there~**


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